They're Not Really Friends
by gimmethesticky
Summary: It was Rachel who overheard Finn out Santana in the hallway. Pezberry.
1. Chapter 1

**Pairing: Rachel/Santana**  
**Rated: PG-13 (for now, but probably eventual NC-17)**  
**Summary: It was Rachel who overheard Finn in the hallway, not that dumbass cheerio. Santana isn't outed on national television (or at all, against her will), and Finn is an asshole. :D  
Word count (for this chapter): 6,100**  
**Author's note 1: OOPS ANOTHER STORY.**  
**Author's note 2: I started writing this when I reached the middle of my notebook after like fifteen pages of _Teeth_ and then it turned into a fluffy, Pezberry monster.**  
**ENJOY!**

* * *

"Hey, Santana! Why don't you just come out of the closet? You know, I think I know why you're so good at tearing everybody else down. It's because you're constantly tearing yourself down, because you can't admit to everybody that you're in love with Brittany and she doesn't love you back. That must hurt, to not be able to admit to everyone how you really feel. You know what I think you are? A coward. See you at the mash off."

Rachel quickly glanced around the busy hallway, and it looked like no one but she and Santana had heard him. Good. She passed the stunned woman to catch up with Finn's retreating form. She grabbed her (soon to be ex) boyfriend's shoulders, spun him around, swung her right hand back, and slapped him hard across the face. The sound rang out and the hallway fell silent.

"Rachel!" he held his cheek and shot her a confused and angry look.

She shook her head, lips turning down in a deep frown. "I've never been more disgusted with someone I know in my entire life," she clenched her jaw and her fists shook at her sides. "You and I are finished."

She turned and saw Santana staring at her in a kind of stupor. Rachel walked by her and she headed for the bathroom, and she heard the hushed, perplexed whispers of students around her.

"Why'd she hit him?"

"I don't know, she just did."

"What'd he say?"

"Anyone know what happened?"

"Wonder what he did."

Rachel pushed the bathroom door open – grateful to find it empty – and it wasn't until she saw her face in the mirror did she realize she was crying. Rachel took a deep breath and released it in a choked sob. She clutched at her stomach; Rachel couldn't believe what she had heard come out of Finn's mouth. Her insides were turning themselves in knots, so much so that she felt her lunch crawling back up. She made it to a stall directly behind her before retching the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. Rachel stood shakily and flushed, and then went back to the sink to wash her hands and to clean her mouth out.

"Why did you do that?"

The quiet voice scared Rachel and she jumped, getting water down the front of her dress as her head jerked away from the faucet. A wet hand was on her chest and Rachel could feel her heart beating quickly under her palm. Santana's expression had hardly changed from the hallway, except her eyebrows had furrowed. Her arms were defensively crossed over her chest and she was staring Rachel down with false confidence, trying to appear tough so she wouldn't end up crying herself.

"Does the fact that I just threw up because of his words not make it obvious?" Rachel asked, her tone soft. She cupped her hands together, held them under the water, and brought them to her lips. Rachel swished the cold liquid around her mouth before spitting and reaching for a towel.

"But you hate me, why would you do something like that when you could've just pitched in after what I had said to him?" Santana's arms went from folded in front of her chest to wrap around her stomach.

"I'm not defending your behavior, Santana, and of course I don't hate you," Rachel dabbed her face dry. "But what he did is inexcusable," her voice dropped on the last word as her throat tightened, and she looked away when more tears fell down her pink cheeks. Rachel took a deep, calming breath and then turned back to Santana. "Are you okay?"

Santana scoffed. "Whatever, Finn doesn't know what he's talking about," she rolled her eyes but didn't look at Rachel at all. Her mask was already slipping; it didn't need more incentive to fall down any lower.

Rachel walked up to the door and threw away the balled up paper towel in the bin. She looked at Santana, just three feet away from her, and said, "Please don't insult my intelligence, Santana."

Santana's chin quivered.

"If you ever need anyone who is really not going to judge, you have my number," Rachel reached out a hand to touch Santana's shoulder, but the woman looked like she about to break at any second, so Rachel curled her fingers into a fist at the last second and retracted her hand. "Text me."

Rachel walked around Santana and the final bell rang, signaling the end of classes. As Rachel was about to push the door open, Santana spoke. "I don't have your number."

Rachel smiled softly. "You do. One by one I programmed my cell phone number into every glee club member's phone, in case we needed an emergency rehearsal."

Santana sniffed, pulled her phone out, and scrolled down her contacts to B first, then R. "You're not in here, Berry."

"It's under T, I thought you'd remember it better that way," Rachel walked out of the door and went to gather her things from the locker, making sure she had everything she needed for the weekend before walking out to the parking lot.

In the bathroom, Santana scrolled through R and S, past Tina, and then cracked a small smile when she saw one word stand out in all caps: _TROLL_.

xxx

Late that Friday night, Rachel lay awake watching Buffy on Netflix with a blanket hugged around her shoulders as she leaned up against an armrest of the large couch in the basement. She had set up the projector screen so Faith as Buffy was wreaking life-size havoc right in front of her. She smiled as Buffy said, "Five by five." This was one of her favorite episodes. Rachel's phone vibrated from its place on the floor where she had been sitting earlier, and she watched the screen glow for a few seconds before it went out. She huffed as she unwrapped herself from her blanket and went to retrieve the device before it had the chance to notify her again. Once she was back in her cozy little couch corner, she swiped her finger across the screen to access the message.

_S. Lopez: y r ur lights on?_

Why was Santana texting her well after one in the morning? Why did Santana know her lights were on? _How_ did she know they were on?

_R. Berry: Because I'm awake. Where are you?_

Rachel paused her show. The opening credits were about to start.

_S. Lopez: prkd 2 houses awy_

Rachel shot up from the couch, abandoning her blanket in favor of making it up the stairs as quickly as possible. She walked briskly through her house, grabbed her daddy's jacket from the rack and swung the front door open before searching up and down her dark street. It took a few moments, but soon enough Rachel spotted the red sports car parked across from Mrs. Leady's house. Rachel walked down to the bottom step of her porch and watched as the front door of the car opened and Santana stepped out. She wore a tight, dark red dress, the hem well above Santana's mid-thigh. Her black pumps matched the open leather jacket, and the woman's gorgeous hair shown prettily in the dull glow of the streetlight. Santana shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and her heels clicked across the pavement as she walked over to Rachel. She was shrouded in darkness as she left the brightness of the streetlamp before Santana was illuminated again by Rachel's porch light.

They stood observing one another for a few seconds, Rachel on the step, hugging her daddy's jacket around her small frame, not knowing what to say, and Santana staring at the brick walkway leading up to the house as she stood on the sidewalk. Finally, after about a minute, Santana asked the bricks, "Where'd you learn to hit like that?"

"Quinn," Rachel replied, and she then turned and walked back into her house, leaving the door open behind her. She went into her kitchen and pulled out two bottles of water from the fridge. She heard the front door close and turned to walk back down to the basement, and the clacking of Santana's heels followed her. Rachel sat back on her spot on the couch, leaving her blanket on the floor.

Santana kicked her heels off and sat at the other end of the couch. "How'd you learn to hit from Quinn?"

Rachel rolled her head to the left to look at Santana. "She struck me with her open hand at prom, last year," Rachel watched as Santana shrugged off her jacket, the light from the projection screen shining on her bare shoulders in the otherwise dark room.

"Damn," Santana said.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood."

"Lima Heights is at the other side of town, Santana."

"Whatever, I wanted the company," Santana stared at the screen and tucked her legs to the side. "What is this?" she asked, gesturing to the paused screen with a tilt of her head.

Rachel contemplated questioning Santana further, but she hadn't been insulted yet, so she didn't ask. She looked back to the screen and explained, "It's an episode of Buffy."

"Okay."

Rachel took Santana's reluctance to say anything else as a cue to start her show. She pressed play, and the opening sequence began. They watched in silence, and neither girl moved until the scene at the club hangout, where Faith as Buffy made the crack, "_So Willow's not driving stick, anymore_?" and Rachel felt Santana shift on the couch. She was still when Faith/Buffy pushed Spike against the support beam, but when Willow and Tara began quietly chanting in the dorm room, Santana moved again. When Willow arched on the floor, Rachel started at the sound of Santana's voice.

"I've never actually said it out loud," Santana was leaning back on the armrest, her head lying on her fist as her elbow dug into the padding of the support. Rachel didn't ask what she was referring to; she just let Santana speak. "My family, you know," she lifted her head. "It's just an unspoken understanding that we don't talk about unnatural things." Santana spoke just loud enough for Rachel to hear her over the show, but at the word 'unnatural,' she turned it off.

"Santana, it's not unnatural," Rachel said. With the show off, the room was totally dark save for the soft light coming from the hallway at the top of the stairs, so Rachel couldn't see Santana's face when she looked in the woman's direction.

"Why did you hit him?" Santana deflected. She knew it wasn't unnatural. She didn't need to say it, because she didn't.

Rachel sighed, and stayed quiet for several seconds before speaking just above a whisper. "My daddy Hiram doesn't have feeling in a spot on the right side of his face, three fingers on his left hand, and he has four fake teeth, because when he was in high school, someone did the same thing Finn did to you earlier today. Except he'd been in the locker room, and he ended up in a coma for two days," she rubbed her eyes and then unwillingly pictured Santana bloodied and beaten, and she felt hot tears spill from her eyes. "I can't _believe_ Finn was so cruel. His brother is gay, or heaven's sake." Santana said nothing to this, and just stayed still. Rachel angrily wiped her eyes, tired of crying. "Santana," she said, a newfound confidence in her voice.

There was silence for several seconds before Santana whispered, "What?"

"If anything happens, I want you to know you have a safe place, here. Do you understand?" she spoke into the darkness, but got no answer. "Do you?"

"Yeah," Santana's whisper was even quieter this time.

"Good," Rachel stood and made her way to the stairs. "I am going to head up. You're staying here tonight."

"_Why_?" Through the stiffness in her voice, Santana's incredulity was still evident.

"It's far too late for you to be driving," Rachel began walking up the stairs. "Are you coming?"

"Gimme a minute," Santana said.

Rachel waited for four minutes at stool in the kitchen. When Santana emerged, her makeup was marred, and she held her heels in her right hand and her jacket in her left. "Where are your parents?" Santana leaned up on the counter.

Rachel smiled. "My daddy surprised my dad with tickets for _Billy Elliot_, so they'll be in New York until Tuesday."

"How come you're being so nice to me? I've never done anything for you."

Rachel rolled her eyes; this was getting old. "Would you rather I kick you out? Because I could, if it would make you feel better."

"Oh, please," Santana stood up straight and gave Rachel a look that used to scare her. "You couldn't do that even if my hands were tied."

Rachel's eyes twinkled. She was glad Santana was getting back to her snark. "Tying you would certainly make it easier." Rachel walked by Santana and up the stairs to her room before the other woman had even processed what she had said. Santana hurried up the stairs and found Rachel's room – the only door that was open – empty. She looked around and saw light coming from under a door to the right, so she sat down on the bed and looked around. There were Broadway posters on the walls and a Streisand book on the night table.

Rachel opened the bathroom door and Santana quirked an eyebrow, a side effect of hanging around Quinn too often. Rachel had changed from her soft-looking light blue pajamas into a white camisole, and Santana assumed she had already been wearing the adorable black panties with cute, yellow stars on them.

Wait. _Adorable?_ C_ute?_ When the hell did those words become something she associated with Rachel Berry?

Rachel didn't seem to notice (or just didn't care about) Santana's blatant leering as she moved to her vanity so she could brush her hair. "The guestroom's always ready, if you'd be more comfortable there."

"As opposed to…?" Santana watched the brush go through Rachel's thick, glossy hair, and now words like _gorgeous_ and _beautiful_ were swirling around in her head.

"Well," she turned and gestured around her room, "here." Rachel set her brush down and got up before flicking her main light off by the room door so just a small lamp lit the space.

"Aren't you worried I'll…" Santana waved her hands about ambiguously.

"What?" Rachel eyed her curiously as she walked up to the other side of the bed, closest to the window. Normally, she slept in the middle of the bed, but if Santana was going to stay, she'd sleep on whichever side wasn't occupied.

"Y'know. Jump you?"

Rachel was leaning up against the headboard and she tossed her head back against it as she laughed. Her head made a thumping noise as it hit the wood, but she just kept laughing. "No, Santana, I don't think you're going to jump me," she smiled as she said, "My top drawer has sleepwear in it," Rachel settled lower in her bed, setting her stinging head on a pillow.

Santana blinked twice and then went to the drawer, and everything looked way too small. After rifling through everything, though, she found a large, worn, white tee shirt. Santana looked over her shoulder to see Rachel's eyes closed, and white headphone wires stood out against her brown hair. Santana kept her back to the bed and swiftly replaced her red dress with the shirt. Her back still turned, she slipped her bra out from under the shirt and dropped it on the floor with her dress.

Santana walked back to the bed and as she sat down, Rachel pulled the earbuds out and coiled the wire around her iPod. "I'm sleeping," Rachel turned towards Santana on her side. "Are you staying here, or going down the hall?" Rachel was wondering why Santana hadn't argued to leave earlier, or why she wasn't arguing now. Santana didn't say anything; she just scooted up the bed and slid under the covers before turning the light off on the night table and flipping over so she was facing away from Rachel.

xxx

Despite the later – or rather early – hour, Rachel still couldn't fall asleep. "Santana," she whispered.

"What?" Santana barked.

In spite of the harsh tone, Rachel smiled. Santana wasn't asleep, either. "I was kicked out of Camp Lima when I was nine," she said.

"Well, I can imagine parents wouldn't want their children playing with a hobgoblin."

Rachel ignored her. "The girls in my cabin were all playing House, and they'd volunteered me for the dad in the family," Rachel rolled her eyes when Santana snorted. "We were playing out by the lake; make believe tea parties with sand, and leaves, and rocks," she spoke up to the ceiling.

"What's the point of this?"

"When Sara Glenn, who was playing the role of the mom, handed me a sand and water pie, I thanked her by giving her a kiss to the lips," Rachel sighed sadly at the memory. "A counselor saw, and my things were packed and I was sent home within the space of an hour," she turned her head towards Santana, whose silhouette she could barely see. "Who was your first kiss?"

"That was not a first kiss, Berry," Santana said. "That was adolescent innocence."

"Fine. Does it count in junior high, then? In Sara's bedroom after finishing math homework?" Rachel asked. "With my heart pounding and my hands shaking?" Rachel sighed again. "The Glenns moved away, that year. Sent Sarah to a 'clensing camp,' too."

Santana was silent for a minute before she asked, "Your first kiss was with a girl?" she sounded much smaller than Rachel had ever heard her before.

"Yes."

"Mine was with…" Santana hesitated.

"Was it Brittany?" Rachel asked, and she immediately wished she hadn't. Had she overstepped?

"No," Santana said, and she didn't sound angry. "It was Matt Rutherford. Brittany didn't kiss me until eighth grade preliminary cheerios camp over the summer. I had thought something was broken in me, my stomach was turning over so much."

"Thank you for tel-"

"Shut up, Berry," Santana said. Her voice was lighter, though, and Rachel smiled. She listened to Santana's breathing for a while, and, slowly, the steady rhythm sent her to sleep.

xxx

Rachel woke up at eight – which, she'd slept in a _lot_ – and found the other side of the bed empty. There was some residual warmth under the covers, so Santana had probably woken up only minutes before. Rachel got up, and Santana's clothes were no longer on the floor. She went to her window and looked out on the street to the sidewalk across from Mrs. Leady's house; Santana's car was gone. She checked her phone and there was one message, but it was just from her dad gushing about the hotel room her daddy had booked, and about how excited they both were for the show the next night. She shook her head and changed into shorts, a sports bra, and a tank top. It looked like a nice morning, so she'd forgo her usual elliptical routine in favor of a run around the neighborhood.

xxx

The rest of Rachel's weekend was vastly uneventful. Santana didn't text, nor did anyone else, save her dads, and Rachel spent her time on homework, going over potential set lists for Sectionals and Nationals, and watching a few more episodes of Buffy. At eleven on Sunday night, she retired to her room, and went to sleep shortly after.

xxx

On Monday, Rachel was putting books in her locker when she felt someone looming ominously behind her. When she closed her locker, she ignored Finn's lame greeting, and didn't acknowledge him at all as he followed her and tried to speak to her on the way to her first class. Finally, he tried getting her attention by putting his hand on her shoulder. She turned a few feet from the classroom door and he almost ran into her. "Do not touch me, Finn Hudson. Do not speak to me, do not contact me, and do not interact with me at all. And _never_ repeat what you said to Santana on Friday." Her shoulder still felt heavy, and she glared as hard as she ever had. "Get your hand _off of me_." She pushed his hand from her shoulder and walked into her class without a backwards glance.

xxx

Throughout the day, Rachel saw Santana in passing, but the cheerleader didn't acknowledge her. It didn't surprise Rachel; she hadn't been expecting any exchanging of words, and she certainly didn't try to seek any sort of conversation with Santana. If Santana wanted to talk to Rachel, she would.

After her last class, Rachel made her way to the auditorium for a much needed release through song. Since she didn't have the band with her, she took her CD out of her bag and put it into the stereo system. The beginning notes of Lily Allen's _Fuck You_ sounded out, and Rachel sang. The song highlighted her angry feelings well, and she randomly danced around the stage to the upbeat music as lyrics poured from her mouth. Had Rachel known anyone had followed her into the auditorium, she might have put a little more coordination into her performance, and she might not have jumped at the flash of red and white she saw in the middle row just as the song ended.

Santana was sitting low in the seat, but that didn't prevent Rachel from seeing her. Rachel was panting slightly from her activity during the song, but she held Santana's gaze for at least a minute until Santana got up and walked out.

xxx

All during glee, Finn tried to make eye contact with her. She didn't pay him any of her attention. Santana sat as far from her as possible, and didn't even grace Rachel with an insult. The only notable thing that happened was Mr. Schue pushing the mash off back two weeks; something about Sue threatening his life for use of the auditorium. No one questioned him about it.

xxx

The rest of the week was relatively the same as Monday. Finn tried and failed to speak to Rachel, she didn't interact with Santana, and if she happened to sing something in the auditorium after school, she found the cheerleader watching her, and they stared at each other for a scant amount of time before Santana left wordlessly.

xxx

At nine o' clock on Friday night, Hiram Berry answered the knock on his door to find a young woman in jeans and a leather jacket standing on his front porch.

"Is Rachel home?"

The jacket was zipped, but Hiram could see what looked like some sort of crème colored shirt at the top of the zipper. "Uh…" he looked her up and down one more time – she looked vaguely familiar – before saying, "Come on in, she's just downstairs," he opened the door wider and let the young woman into his house.

"Thanks," she said. She smiled a little awkwardly at him and then made a beeline for the basement door.

Rachel heard heels clicking on the hardwood upstairs and her stomach did that thing that happened when she was in the plane for Nationals last year when it took off. She kept her eyes on the screen and didn't say anything as Santana sat down on the other end of the couch. Rachel was watching the very end of the Entropy episode of Buffy, and Santana was just in time to see Tara making her speech to Willow, and then to see them kiss. After the credits started to roll, Rachel shut it off.

"What, you're not going to watch another one?"

Rachel turned to Santana to see her taking off her leather jacket, revealing a swoop neck, long sleeve shirt that clung tightly to her abdomen and fell loosely around her chest. "I don't like to watch the next episode unless I'm already sad," she said. She turned her knees so they were facing the other end of the couch.

"Does someone die in it or something?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"You're here again."

"Yeah."

"How come?"

"I wanted company."

"Do you want to stay the night again?"

There was a pause in the conversation and Santana took the time to remove her pumps. "Sure."

"Do you want to guestroom?"

Another pause. "Nah."

"You didn't want to hang out with Brittany?"

Santana's lip curled for just a moment before her features turned neutral and she shook her head. "B's mom always stays out late with her book club on Fridays, so she's probably got Artie over. Third-wheeling is not my idea of a good Friday night."

Rachel's brow furrowed at this. "But spending your night with the school pariah is?"

Santana scoffed. "Whatever, Berry. I'm just here because your TV is bigger than mine," Santana spoke with a small grin, and Rachel knew she was joking. It made Rachel giggle. "So, who dies?"

"You really want to know?"

Santana looked at Rachel for a second, again thinking things like _endearing_, and _sweet_, and that one word she thought before. _Cute._ She shook her head. "Nah."

"All right," Rachel put her feet on the floor and stood from the couch. "I'm going up."

"What, already? It's not even ten o' clock."

Rachel put her hands on her hips. "Well, what do you suggest we do?"

"Pfft, fuck if I know. We could raid your dads' liqueur cabinet," she gave an overenthusiastic grin, baring all her teeth.

Rachel tried holding in her laugh. She did, but it bubbled up from low in her stomach, rising through her like soda trying to burst from a shaken bottle. A whine escaped her throat and she doubled over laughing so hard at Santana's absolutely ridiculous expression that she held her sides as she wheezed.

At Rachel's laugh, Santana's smile turned genuine and she chuckled a little at how – there's that word again – cute she sounded. Rachel snorted, and then Santana lost her composure, too. "Ahaha, you have," Santana's eyes shown with mirthful tears. "The dorkiest laugh!"

"Oh," Rachel grinned. "You're one to talk!"

"Rachel, honey?" Hiram called down the stairs. Rachel and Santana sobered when he came down the steps. "I'm heading to bed."

"Okay, daddy," Rachel, still smiling, leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. It didn't take a lot; he wasn't that much taller than she was. Not like her dad, who was a little over six feet. "Night. My, um- Santana's staying over, is that okay?"

"Santana?" he asked, and then quirked an eyebrow at his daughter. Had he known who the young woman on his porch had been when he opened the door, he might not have let her into the house. "Santana Lopez?" He recognized her now from the singing competitions Rachel's glee club had done.

"Daddy, it's fine," she pushed on his shoulders, trying to get him to stop glaring at Santana. "Go to bed."

He stared at Santana as he said to Rachel, "Fine," he turned to Rachel. "Don't stay down here too long.

"We won't," she kissed his cheek again and lightly shoved him towards the stairs. When she was sure he was gone, Rachel turned back to Santana. "Sorry."

Santana shook her head. "Does he know that I'm-"

"What _both_ my parents know," Rachel cut her off. "Is that Santana Lopez is a girl who used to have me slushied, and that she would write unkind things about me in comments on my myspace videos. They don't know anything else," she said. Rachel bit her lip nervously, again hoping she wouldn't overstep when she asked, "Unless you want them to?"

Santana rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, feigning indifference, but then she looked at Rachel and shook her head. "Not yet."

Rachel nodded. "Okay. Now, I'm going up," she turned and walked up the stairs, and smiled when she heard Santana following her. Rachel looked down the hallway across from the kitchen and saw light from under the doorway at the end of the hall; her parents were still up, no doubt discussing her and her decision to let Santana stay in their home. Rachel walked up the stairs to her own room and briefly glanced back as Santana shut the door behind her.

"So, now what?" Santana asked, and Rachel watched with some amusement as the woman tossed her jacket on Rachel's desk chair and then leaned back against the closed door like she'd done it countless times before.

"Now," Rachel kicked off her slippers. "I'm taking a shower. Make yourself at home," Rachel said, and then she walked into her en suite.

Santana frowned as Rachel's bathroom door closed. What the fuck was she supposed to do for twenty minutes? Assuming Rachel took long showers… Long, hot, steamy, _wet_ showers… Whoa. Again with the thoughts. Maybe she should just rest her eyes for a bit, clear the crazy from her head. Because that's what it was. _Crazy_. Only explanation. In no way could Santana _actually_ be attracted to Rachel, because, _what?_ When did that even happen? Okay, maybe, now that she thought about it, it was really awesome and a little hot – _down,_ crazy thoughts – when Rachel smacked Finn across the face for her, and there's a _chance_ that that's why Santana went to Rachel's house last Friday, and possibly why she's here now. Maybe.

Santana shook her head to get the madness rolling around in her noggin and slumped forward onto Rachel's bed, face first. She yawned. Rachel's bed smelled good. Kind of like how Rachel smelled. Which was good. Apparently. Santana yawned again. She reached for a pillow and tucked in under her chest, and then Santana fell asleep thinking about how good Rachel Berry's bed smelled.

xxx

Santana was having the weirdest dream. She was in one of those underground hobbit hill house things from Lord of the Rings, which, okay, _weird_, but one of the stupid hobbits was trying to take her pants off.

"Why?" she whined.

"Because you'll hate it if you wake up in them," said the hobbit. The hobbit kind of sounded like Rachel.

"No," Santana whined some more.

"Oh, for- Santana, stop kicking!" Rachel gave a rough tug to the button of Santana's jeans and they finally came undone after much struggling. "There. Now hold still."

Santana's eyes opened when the hobbit with Rachel's voice yanked on her pants, and she then realized that she was not in fact in Middle Earth – whatever, Puck went through a dumb phase when she dated him in junior high – but in Rachel's bedroom, on her bed, and Rachel was in the middle of pulling down her jeans.

"Rachel, what the fuck!" Santana's pants were already down past her knees, and she smacked the woman's hands away so she could pull her pants up as fast as possible.

"Oh, please, Santana," Rachel tossed her hair out of her face. "I see that much of your legs on a daily basis," she walked over to the window side of the bed, because Santana had again claimed the side closest to the door, and climbed up.

"Yeah, okay, _why_ were you taking my pants off, though?" she scooted up and rested her back against the headboard as Rachel shimmied under the covers.

"You were asleep-"

"I'm aware, thanks."

"-so I was removing your jeans so you would be more comfortable throughout the night. The shirt you wore last week is in the same drawer, if you'd like it again," Rachel pulled out her iPod, put in her ear buds, selected a song, and closed her eyes.

Santana got out of the bed and changed into the shirt she wore before, leaving the rest of her clothes in a pile in the same place she had the previous week. She got back onto the bed and slid under the covers and tried to hear what Rachel was listening to, but the volume was too low for her to make anything out. After about two minutes, Rachel pulled the ear buds out and put her iPod away. Rachel yawned and then huffed. She got up, walked to her door, switched the overhead light off, and then crawled back onto her bed the way she might have if no one was there. She ended up stumbling slightly because she had to clamber over Santana.

"Jesus, Berry, do I _look_ like a jungle gym?" Santana grunted as Rachel's shin pressed into her stomach.

"Sorry," Rachel pulled the blankets back and snuggled – quite adorably, Santana noted. _Stupid thoughts_ – down under the covers. She yawned again and squeaked. "I think I'm going to sleep."

Santana looked over at Rachel whose eyes had already closed. Girl must have been tired. Rachel was on her back with her head turned towards Santana. Santana sighed, turned off the lamp on the bedside table, settled down more fully, and waited for sleep.

xxx

So, sleep never came, and Santana had been listening to Rachel's deep, even breathing for a few hours. She kept drifting in and out of consciousness, but she was never really asleep. One of those losses of consciousness happened again, and Santana sort-of-but-not-really felt the bed shift. When she blearily opened her eyes again, Rachel was tucked into her side. The woman had taken Santana's left arm hostage and was hugging it in her sleep as her head rested on Santana's shoulder. Santana sucked in a gasp as she felt Rachel's bare leg sliding over her own, and she could feel her pulse increase at their nearness. Still, though, Rachel wasn't awake, and it felt nice, and Santana again realized how _good_ Rachel smelled, and she quickly found her heavy eyelids getting that much harder to keep open.

xxx

Oddly enough, Santana woke up first again. Didn't Rachel have some exercise thing or something that she got up early for? Maybe she just didn't do it on Saturdays. Santana took a deep breath and realized her chest was slightly constricted. She looked down to see Rachel sprawled completely on top of her, face down, and sideways. Rachel's head was on the mattress to the right of Santana's body, and Rachel's legs were sticking out on the left.

"_How_ the fuck, Rachel?" Santana whispered. How was she supposed to sneak away unnoticed with Rachel _on top of her_? Santana tried testing Rachel's unconsciousness. "Rachel," she said, and gave Rachel's back a nudge. She didn't move, so Santana carefully slid her hands under Rachel's shoulders and slowly lifted her torso so it was back on the other side of the bed. When Santana got up, Rachel moved a little bit, and Santana froze on her way to where she'd piled her things. When Rachel made no further movement, Santana dressed, but kept her heels in her right hand. She turned back to Rachel, whose legs were bent in one direction as she lay on her stomach, and whose head was turned in the other. Santana crept over and pulled the blankets back over Rachel's body before silently opening the door and leaving.

She made it downstairs and was slipping on her shoes by the front door when a voice said, "Good morning." She gasped and spun around. Rachel's other dad was watching her from where he sat on a stool at the counter. He took a sip from his mug, stood up, and walked over to Santana with his arms crossed across his chest, and a stern look on his face. Even in a light grey soft cotton tee shirt and blue plaid pajama pants, the man looked threatening. "Santana Lopez?"

She nodded up at him.

"Leroy Berry," he didn't extend his hand but instead just kept fixing her with his intimidating glare. "Are you planning anything to hurt or hoodwink my daughter?"

Her jaw clenched. "No."

"Then why are you here?"

Santana's throat tightened, and Rachel's words echoed in her head. _I want you to know you have a safe place, here_. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Well?"

Her stomach flipped, and she spoke. "Finn Hudson tried to out me in the hallway at school last week," she swallowed dryly. "No one heard but me and Rachel. She slapped him, and dumped him, and told me she was there if I ever nee-needed anyone," she mentally chastised herself for stuttering, and for feeling like she was about to cry. She looked up to Leroy and his stony expression hadn't changed.

"Would you like to stay for breakfast?" His tone, however, was softer than Santana would have thought possible for the man who had been so menacing only minutes before. She jerkily shook her head to the offer. He nodded. "Okay," he took a deep breath and released it. "You're welcome here any time, alright?" he said. She nodded. "Alright."

She took that as her okay to leave, and she did. Santana turned and opened the door, and didn't put on her other shoe until she was on the sidewalk.

* * *

**Author's note 3: REVIEWS KEEP MY HEART BEATING.**  
**Author's note 4: The above note is a dramatization and should very much not be taken at all seriously.**  
**Author's note 5: I really do love reviews, though.  
Author's note 6: All mistakes are my own, although I sincerely hope they are few.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Pairing: **Rachel/Santana  
**Rating (for this chapter): **PG-13**  
Word count (for this chapter):** ~8,400  
**A/N: **Sorry for the delay!

* * *

Back inside, Leroy turned to the kitchen to see Rachel peeking around the corner. She'd been listening from the stairs. "You slapped Finn?"

"You should have heard what he said to her," Rachel walked over and sat down on a stool next to her dad's stool. "He's lucky all I did was slap him."

"Do I need to call Burt and tell him to give his eighteen year old step-son a lesson on homophobia?" he sat back down and pulled Rachel's stool closer so he could wrap his arm around her.

She rested her head in the crook of his shoulder and shook it, no. "If Finn can't learn with Kurt as his brother, and with his own ex-girlfriend's parents, there's really no point in trying to explain it to him anymore." He kissed the top of her head and she sighed.

"What's this?" Hiram Berry asked as he wandered out from his bedroom hallway. "Are you having a family moment without me? And where's the faultless Miss Lopez?"

Rachel sniffed, extracted herself from Leroy's arms, and walked over so she could give Hiram a hug. "She's not faultless, daddy," she spoke into his chest, and then pulled back so she could look at his face. "She's you."

He looked at her, concerned and curious, then glanced to his husband. Hiram looked back to Rachel and asked, "What do you mean?"

Rachel sniffed again. "On Friday, after classes in the hallway, I heard Finn say," she scowled, "he said, 'Hey, Santana, why don't you just come out of the closet?' So I hit him, and then I threw up, and then I told Santana to text me," she signed sadly and he hugged her tighter.

"I see. Does anyone else know?"

She shook her head. "I'm sure some people might suppose, but she told me she's never said it out loud," Rachel pulled out of his arms when she felt her phone vibrate from its place between her hip and the elastic of the pajama bottoms she put on before going downstairs. She turned away from her parents to read it.

_S. Lopez: is ur dad alwys up so frggn early?_

Rachel smiled.

_R. Berry: Yes. I am, too._

_S. Lopez: u wernt wen i lft_

_R. Berry: I was._

_S. Lopez: im not a jngle gym_

_R. Berry: I apologize. You were warm._

_S. Lopez: whtevr. c u l8r_

Rachel looked curiously at the last word. _Later_.

"Ray, sweetie, tell her I'm sorry for scaring her," Leroy said. He was in a corner of the kitchen pouring another cup of coffee.

"I will the next time I see her. I'm going to go for a run," she smiled weakly at them and then went upstairs to change.

xxx

Rachel made it eight blocks before she saw a red sports car parked next to the sidewalk and familiar eyes watching her in the side mirror. She jogged up to the open window, wiping the light sweat from her brow on the back of her hand. "Have you gone home yet?"

Santana glanced at Rachel's chest, just for a moment – but long enough to see it was glistening with a slight sheen of perspiration – before squinting up to look at her face. "No one's there," Santana turned her head back to her dashboard, and then her eyes followed Rachel as the brunette walked around the front of her car and said nothing as she opened the door and got in the passenger seat.

"So let's go, and you can get changed, and then we can go for a run," Rachel relaxed into the soft leather, trying to imagine that the seats were furbished with fabric instead.

Santana started her car and drove off towards Lima Heights without a word.

xxx

"I'll wait out here," Rachel said. She sat down on the lawn and began doing stretches as Santana walked into her large, closed-gate community house.

She came back after about ten minutes. "There's a park with a good running path a few blocks from here."

They walked to the park, and after the second block, Santana said, "I've never seen you this quiet since I've known you." She took a right and Rachel followed.

"Would you like me to speak?" Rachel asked. Up ahead, she saw the park Santana had mentioned.

"You know. Whatever." Santana stopped at a bench before the path started and extended her leg on top of it so she could stretch.

Rachel's eyes ran the length of the strong limb, most all of it showing because of Santana's small running shorts, and then said, "My dad meant what he said about you always being welcome," she looked down the path to see how far it went, but her view was obstructed as it curved into a growth of alders.

"Guess you were awake," Santana stretched her other leg.

"I woke up when you tried to wake me up," she turned back to Santana. "I just didn't show it. I was eavesdropping from the stairs." When Santana didn't say anything, Rachel continued. "I told my daddy what Finn said."

Santana tensed. "Your dad's fucking scary," she said, and then she started down the path. Rachel smirked and ran after her, around the curve of the path. She caught up with Santana, hip-checked her, and then ran faster with a grin on her face. _She plays dirty,_ thought Santana. _I like it._ Santana picked up her speed and ran next to Rachel, and tried to hip-check her right back, but Rachel caught her by the waist, and they tripped. "Shit!" Santana's legs twisted and she fell sideways off of the path, and Rachel fell with her.

"Umph!" Santana landed on her back, and Rachel fell on top of her. "Jesus, Rachel," Santana gasped, trying to catch her breath. "I thought we'd made it clear that I am _not_ a jungle gym."

"I am so sorry!" Rachel lifted herself from the body beneath her and looked down. Her hands were on the ground on either side of Santana's head and she was essentially straddling Santana's hips. "Sorry…" Rachel said again. She looked at Santana's eyes; she'd never really noticed how gorgeous they were, how dark. Rachel hastily got up off of Santana, but as soon as she stood, she crumpled back down to the ground with a surprised shout of pain.

"What?" Santana asked, and if Rachel looked closer, she would have thought the cheerleader was actually concerned.

Rachel sat on her backside with her knees bent in front of her. She was clutching her right ankle. "I think I've twisted it."

"Shit," Santana stood and dusted herself off, unharmed by their tumble from the path. "C'mon, I've got some bandages at home." Santana extended her arm, hoisted Rachel up, and wrapped her left arm around Rachel's middle. When Rachel slung her arm over Santana's shoulders, Santana took Rachel's hand in hers to keep her steady. "You good?"

"I- I believe so, yes," Rachel said. Santana was holding her closely and their proximity was proving to be very distracting.

They hadn't made it very far down the path to begin with, so it wasn't long before they were walking – rather, hobbling, in Rachel's case – back down the sidewalk. Santana rolled something around in her mind for a while, weighing the pros and cons, but, eventually, the thought that won was, fuck it. So, as they turned onto her block, she asked, "You busy for the rest of the day?"

Rachel looked sideways at Santana, but her expression was unreadable. "I don't have any weekend plans, no," she stumbled a little when they walked up Santana's steps and Santana held her tighter. When Santana didn't say anything else, Rachel inquired, "Why do you ask?"

Santana carefully opened her front door and shuffled them both inside. She deposited Rachel on the living room couch, rushed down a hall, and then it sounded like she went upstairs. Rachel took in her surroundings. She was on a worn, black, leather couch, and the living room area was covered in a large rug, whereas the floors surrounding it were just the bare, dark hardwood. There were three matching leather chairs around the couch, a large entertainment system across from it, and a low, glass coffee table directly in front of it. Santana came back with a bottle of Tylenol, the previously mentioned roll of bandages, and what looked like a white ice pack. Santana kneeled down in front of Rachel and set her supplies on the floor.

"Give me this," she motioned for Rachel's right leg. Rachel moved it forward, and Santana removed her running shoe and sock before Rachel could question what was happening. Santana held her calf just below the knee and Rachel noted how warm Santana's hands were. _Warm. And gentle. And strong. But also gentle. I already used that word…_

Santana took the ice pack and held it to the side of Rachel's ankle that was the most swollen and she looked up at Rachel's quiet gasp. "It's cold," Rachel said.

"It was in the freezer," Santana held the ice pack away, put a layer of the bandage directly on the ankle, put the ice pack back, and then wrapped Rachel's ankle with the bandage, making sure to wrap under her heel as well so it wouldn't slip. Again, her thoughts began to wander. _Rachel has nice legs. I wonder if I can get away with…_ Santana slowly slid her hands down Rachel's calf, then down to the bandages, using both hands to double check that everything was secure. _Yeah, really nice legs._

"Santana?" Rachel said.

"Hm?" Santana hummed, rolling up some unused bandage. She failed to see Rachel's one upturned eyebrow.

"Did you just caress my leg under the guise of inspecting the bandage?"

Santana froze and her gaze fixed on Rachel's wrapped ankle. "My hand just slipped."

"All the way down my calf?" Rachel bit her lip. Santana wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I was just checking to see if you had any knotted muscles," she shrugged, hoping to whatever higher power that Rachel bought it.

"I see," Rachel pulled her legs up and bent them to the side. She felt her ankle and winced. "This feels better, but I don't think I should walk on it. So, what was the verdict?"

"What verdict?"

"About my knotted muscles."

"Yeah…" Santana said, and then decided that maybe if she dropped the subject completely, Rachel might, too. "You said you're not busy, right?" She picked up her supplies and carried them into the kitchen, and Rachel could see the doorway if she looked over the back of the couch.

"That's correct," Rachel called out, and she smiled a little at whatever Santana wasn't telling her. The door swung out and Santana came back into the living room.

She took a seat on a plush chair to the right of the couch, closest to Rachel. "You could hang here, if you wanted."

"I could?" Rachel asked, disbelief evident in her voice. Sure, Santana had just – cutely, Rachel thought – felt up her leg, but she didn't think Santana would want to spend that much time with her. When Santana shrugged at her question, Rachel quietly questioned, "For how long?"

"I don't know, you could stay the night, if you're cool with that," she imparted as she stared at a fascinating speck on the rug, and willed her heart to stay in her chest. Why was it beating so madly?

Rachel looked at Santana with rapt curiosity and a rapidly – very rapidly – growing fondness. This was a Santana Rachel was sure very few people saw, and she was glad to be one of them. She actually looked nervous. "I've never known you to be this nice to me before." Rachel's voice conveyed her wonder.

Santana looked up and met Rachel's eyes, noticing her furrowed brow. "Yeah, well. I've never known you to slap boy wonder and then dump him for something he said to me."

Rachel gave her a soft smile. "Let me just call my parents, make sure they haven't planned anything without telling me." She pulled her phone from its holder on her arm, went to favorites, and clicked Home. It rang twice before someone picked up.

"_Yellow, my darling doffter."_

"Hi, daddy."

"_What's up, honey?"_

"I found Santana on my run," she said. She looked to Santana and Rachel could tell she was trying to hear the conversation.

"_Is that so?"_

She hummed. "We're going to have a wild kegger and after that we'll pull an all-nighter as we party at the strip club before we go dancing." Rachel smiled at Santana's wide eyes.

"_Okay, be safe."_

"We will. We might stop by later so I can get a change of clothes."

"_All right. Bye!"_

Rachel ended the call and grinned at Santana's shocked expression.

"Strip club?"

"He knows I'm just joking," Rachel glanced at the entertainment system and gasped when a DVD boxset caught her eye. "Is that…?" She pointed to it.

"Uh huh," Santana kicked her shoes off and took them to the closet by the front door before going back to her seat. Rachel was still intently staring at her DVD shelf.

"Can we watch it?"

"Are you sure?" Santana asked. "It's really violent, and depressing, and there's sex like every other minute."

"That won't bother me," Rachel stood up, hopped to the case on her left foot, steadied herself on the shelf, and pulled the boxset out.

"What, you want to watch it now?"

Rachel nodded.

"Whatever, give me that," Santana took the DVD from Rachel, "and give me this," she sidled up to Rachel's right side and slid her arm around the injured woman's waist. At Rachel's confused look, Santana said, "We'll watch it in my room, it'll be more comfortable."

Getting up the stairs was challenging, but, after tripping a few times, they eventually made it up to Santana's room. Santana sat Rachel at the end of the bed and then hastily fussed with the covers, trying to make it look at least a little bit presentable. When the bed was fixed, she went to her own TV and set everything up. Soon, the room was filled with music from the menu screen.

Rachel crawled to the head of the bed and stacked two of the four pillows there so she could lean them up against the headboard, and settled in as Santana pressed play.

xxx

By the time the second episode had ended, Santana had drifted off to sleep next to Rachel, and Rachel didn't know how to change the discs. It was nearing eleven in the morning, and Rachel didn't want Santana sleeping away the day, so she nudged the dozing woman with her shoulder, and Santana jolted awake.

"What?" Santana snapped. "God, it's not my fault you used me as a mattress and didn't let me sleep at all, last night," she frowned, and Rachel bit her lip to keep from giggling.

"I'm sorry," Rachel smiled and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I just didn't want you sleeping too much, because then you wouldn't sleep later tonight."

"Why did the show stop?"

"I don't know how your DVD system works."

"How's your ankle?"

Rachel gently pressed on the bandaged area with her fingers and grimaced, slightly. "It's still rather painful, and the ice pack isn't cold, anymore."

"I'll get an, um…" Santana moved off of the bed so quickly that Rachel hardly had time to blink before she was out the door and the sound of feet padding down the stairs was heard. Seconds later, Santana was up the stairs and back in her room with a blue gel ice pack and folded paper towels in her hand. She sat in front of Rachel, and felt her heart rate spike when she reached for Rachel's foot, and Rachel let her take it without question.

Santana sat back with her legs crossed in front of her, allowing Rachel's leg to extend so her foot could comfortably rest on the bed. Gently, Santana began unwrapping the bandage around Rachel's heel, but she realized she had to scoot closer for the job to be easier. She moved forward just enough and shifted her legs to the side so Rachel's foot was in her lap, and then she continued unwrapping. Rachel's ankle was warm in her hands when she fully removed the bandage, and the cold of the new ice pack was such a stark contrast that the change in temperature almost stung her fingers. _I wish I could touch her again._ Santana's eyes were fixed on her task, but her mind – as it seemed to like to do around Rachel – was elsewhere, thinking about how, earlier, she'd slipped her hand down Rachel's firm calf. _I shouldn't want to touch her again._ The ankle was still swollen, but Santana knew that it would be all right in a few hours. She took the folded paper towels, placed them on Rachel's skin for a barrier, held the icepack to the towels, and then carefully wrapped it again.

Rachel watched Santana tending to her, and the cheerleader had a peacefulness about her that made Rachel smile. Gone were the judging eyes, and the condescending smirk. Here was the tender look of a woman Rachel wanted to see more of, spend more time with. Here was the woman she wanted to befriend. Santana's hands were so soft as she handled the bandage, and Rachel just observed as she finished tucking the last of the fabric into itself, so it would stay. Her ankle was getting cold again, but Rachel knew it would numb soon, and that the swelling would go down with more time. Santana hadn't looked at Rachel's face the whole time she'd been taking care of the bandage, but when she looked up and their eyes met, Santana looked like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. _What had you been thinking?_

"Do you want to watch more of the show?" Santana didn't look at Rachel again and she stood from the bed to walk over to the television, not waiting for an answer as she ejected the disc and put in the second one.

"Yes, I would like that," Rachel extended her other leg and made herself comfortable against the headboard.

Santana situated herself as far away from Rachel as she could be – without falling off of the bed – and hit play on the remote control. The next episode started, and neither of them said anything until the second disc was finished.

xxx

They'd been sitting on Santana's bed for almost twelve hours, pausing the show every now and again for food, bathroom breaks, and just to stretch their legs. The only conversation between them had been about the show; Rachel would ask a question, or make a comment, and Santana would answer. After the very last episode ended, Santana turned to Rachel and smirked at the wide grin on her face.

"So, I guess you liked it?"

"It's so good," she scooted forward and fell backwards so she could stare at Santana's ceiling. "I wish I had that channel, I'd watch the second season now instead of waiting for it to come out on DVD."

Santana was happy at Rachel's enthusiasm, but her attention was drawn away when her phone vibrated with a new text. She opened it, quickly replied, and then tucked her phone back in her pocket. Rachel listened to Santana texting, but Santana didn't say anything about whom she was talking to, so Rachel didn't ask. Instead, she yawned, sighed, and began fighting to keep her eyes open. "We never went to your house to get you a change of clothes." Rachel looked up at Santana's comment and watched as she left the bed and went to rummage around in her closet. "I don't know," Santana shrugged, changed – with her back to Rachel – out of her running outfit, kept her panties on, and pulled on a white camisole, tossed her running clothes in a hamper near the door, and walked back over to her bed. "Find whatever you want, over there." Santana flopped onto her stomach, barely acknowledging the shift when Rachel got up.

Rachel walked over to the closet and scanned it for something she might wear to bed. It was a small closet; Santana must keep her cheerios things somewhere else, because there weren't any uniforms to be seen, here. There was a short, black dresser with three drawers, and on top of it, a black fabric clothes organizer with eight compartments, each space a square, with four rows of two stacked on each other so it fit on the dresser perfectly. In the left-most bottom cubicle, there were at least ten different-patterned superhero boxer shorts, and a few large teeshirts. Rachel took a light grey shirt, but didn't ask Santana about the boxers. They weren't at that point in their friendship yet, Rachel thought, and she didn't want to offend Santana by questioning her on something that could potentially make her uncomfortable. Not now, anyway.

She, too, changed with her back to the bed, but she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up when she pulled off her sports bra. Rachel shook it off as a draft in the room, but she had a feeling that Santana had been watching her. The idea made her smile, and then she was walking back to the side of the bed closest to the door. Rachel found it a little odd that, when sleeping in her own bed, Santana chose the side of the bed closest to her window, but the two times she had slept at Rachel's, Santana slept on the side closest to Rachel's bedroom door. Again, she didn't question it; now was not the time to pry. Instead, she asked a question she thought would be light enough to spark mild conversation.

"Where do you keep your uniform?" She got under the covers and when she set her head on the pillow, there was a scent there that was distinctly Santana. It wasn't a perfume, or anything that came from a bottle; it was just Santana, and Rachel quietly sighed as the smell relaxed her.

"That door over there," Santana pointed to a door next to her bedroom door, "it's a walk-in closet, it's where I keep stuff that can't just be tossed in the laundry, and my uniform's there, too. Um, be right back."

Rachel watched as Santana left the room and walked into an open door right across the hall. The light turned on, the door closed, and Rachel listened as Santana brushed her teeth with an electric toothbrush. She was tired, though, and Rachel felt herself drifting off as she closed her eyes. She couldn't figure out why she felt so zapped of energy; it wasn't as if they had done anything strenuous all day. They had barely even started to run when they fell and Rachel hurt her ankle.

_I landed directly on top of her… _Rachel's head fell to the side on the pillow and she remembered how she'd been smiling before they tripped together, how she had been goofing off with Santana Lopez. _I always want what I can't have._

Rachel's eyes shot open and she sat up so quickly she gave herself a head rush. She blinked away the wooziness and then realized what she had just thought. _I want Santana…?_ Had she always been attracted to her, or was that development recent, as in the last twenty-four hours? She thought back to all of the encounters she'd ever had with Santana, and shook her head. She had always viewed Santana as a sexually attractive person, but Rachel had come to really like the more open woman she was spending time with, lately.

Santana came back into the room and frowned at the mildly awed look she was getting from Rachel. "What?"

Rachel quickly shook her head and fell back onto the pillow. "Nothing," she turned towards the door and closed her eyes, hoping her sleepiness would come back soon. "Nothing at all."

A light was clicked off, Santana shuffled around for a few seconds, and then all Rachel could hear was the silence of night. A few minutes passed of Rachel just listening. She could barely hear Santana breathing on the other side of the queen bed, but it wasn't deep enough for her to be asleep. Rachel listened, and in her head she counted the seconds until thirty minutes had passed. Santana's breathing was still the unchanged, Rachel still hadn't fallen asleep, either. She rolled over and sighed. "Santana?" There was no response at all, and Rachel thought she might've heard Santana stop breathing. "I know you're awake."

Santana quietly exhaled the breath she'd been holding and looked to her right, where she could see Rachel's dark silhouette on the bed next to her. "Why are you?"

"I don't know," Rachel sighed, and she knew that that was mostly a lie. "I don't usually have trouble falling asleep away from home."

Santana kept staring at the dim outline of Rachel's head, but didn't say anything.

"Santana?" Rachel whispered. She felt her throat tighten at the thought that just came to her mind.

Just as quietly, Santana answered back, "What?"

"You're not a coward." When the words left her mouth, Rachel waited for a response, but none came.

Santana didn't say anything as she tried to hold in the sudden urge to cry. She didn't speak at all, because when Finn had said it in the hallway, she had believed him. For the first time that day, Santana wished Rachel wasn't there so she could just cry by herself, without anyone seeing. She couldn't break down with Rachel _right there._ She couldn't cry with Rachel so close; she _wouldn't._ She wanted to say something to let Rachel know she was fine, and that she knew she wasn't a coward, and that Rachel was stupid for telling her something that Santana already knew. She wanted to laugh about it, and to bump Rachel's shoulder jokingly about how dumb it was that Rachel even needed to say that. When Santana felt the mattress shaking ever so slightly, she covered her mouth with her hand when she realized that Rachel was crying for her.

"You're not," Rachel was crying at Santana's silence, and how Santana wasn't saying anything because she probably thought there was truth in Finn's cruel words. "Please don't think that you are." She slowly reached over and she wasn't surprised when her fingers brushed Santana's back. When Santana didn't immediately flinch away, Rachel scooted across the bed and pressed her body against Santana's, and wrapped her right arm loosely around Santana's middle.

Santana pouted deeply and her chest hurt at how she was holding everything in. The weight of Rachel's arm on her waist felt so good, and she just wanted to collapse onto the warm body next to hers and for those arms to squeeze tighter. They stayed like long enough for Rachel to fall asleep, and for Santana to stop crying on her own.

Rachel was still awake; she was breathing through her mouth against the back of Santana's exposed neck, and she just hadn't said anything in about an hour. She was thinking about her recent revelation, and that her motivation to comfort Santana was also fueled somewhat selfishly, because, in all honesty, Rachel just wanted to be closer to her.

"Rachel?"

Rachel said nothing; she didn't move, and tried to keep her breathing as even as she could.

"Did you fall asleep?" Santana wiggled her shoulder a little and bumped Rachel, but nothing happened. She took a deep breath, released it, and very, very slowly, Santana turned over. She carefully shifted Rachel so the smaller brunette was on her back, and then Santana put her head on Rachel's chest. "Why do you care so much, Rachel?" Santana whispered. Her arm moved from her side and she closed her eyes and sighed as laid it over Rachel's waist. "I'm not worth it."

Rachel's couldn't stand the way Santana was talking. With surprising strength, she quickly pulled Santana completely on top of her and then held the woman tightly. Santana, for her part, was shocked to learn that Rachel had been awake the whole time. Santana's eyebrows raised and her eyes widened as her head rested on Rachel's chest, as she honestly hasn't been expecting it when Rachel said, "You are to me." Rachel kept her eyes closed and tightened her hold around Santana's waist, relaxing under the woman who had yet to respond to Rachel's confession. Rachel was quickly becoming relaxed and sleepy under Santana's warmth and weight, and she felt a comfort she'd never experienced with Finn, or Jesse, or anyone else, before. "You mean a lot to me…" Rachel was quickly losing consciousness, but she needed Santana to know that she cared about her. "Okay?"

Santana didn't trust her voice to not waver, so she just nodded her head against Rachel's chest. The strength at which Rachel was holding her was calming Santana down in a way she hadn't expected; her mind was slowly being eased by their closeness, and Santana found herself wanting to stay in this position throughout the night. Underneath her, Rachel's breathing deepened, and Santana was soon lulled by the rhythmic movement of her rising and falling chest.

xxx

Rachel woke up to Santana shifting off of her and then she felt covers being pulled from under her only to be draped over her. The covers were pulled back, and the smaller brunette smiled when Santana carefully placed herself back on top of Rachel under the covers.

xxx

The next morning, Rachel opened her eyes at six-thirty to find that Santana had shifted lower down her body sometime in the night, as had the covers. Santana's face was pressed between Rachel's breasts, her upper body between Rachel's legs, and her arms were snugly hugging Rachel's waist. Rachel brought her hand up and gently pushed hair away from Santana's peacefully sleeping face. "You are so gorgeous," Rachel rested her palm on the side of Santana's head, and let her eyes close again so she might be able to sleep for a little while longer.

xxx

Santana carefully extracted herself from between Rachel's thighs to move to the empty part of the bed next to her. The curtains were drawn, so the room was still shrouded in darkness, but the clock read nine in the morning. "Good morning." Santana started at Rachel's quiet greeting, and felt her heart thump in her chest at the small fright.

"I didn't realize you were awake," her response was a whisper, too.

"I woke up around six," Rachel missed Santana's warmth; she was sad to not still have that comforting body on top of her.

"You could have woken me, you know."

"I could have."

"But you didn't."

"I was comfortable."

Santana didn't answer for a few seconds. "So was I."

"But you moved."

"I thought I might have been bothering you."

"You weren't. You could move back, if you wanted."

Santana swallowed. _Is she goading me on purpose?_ She stared up at the dark ceiling and thought, _she wouldn't be asking me to move back if she knew how turned on I got when I woke up._ "I think I'll just get some breakfast." She slipped out of bed and wordlessly left the room for the kitchen.

Rachel waited a few seconds before she got up and rummaged around in Santana's closet until she found a pair of sweatpants. She pulled them on, and then went downstairs. Santana was at the stove, pouring pancake batter onto a pan as she stood there in her underwear. "Do you always make breakfast without pants?"

Santana smirked with her back to Rachel and didn't answer the question. Imagining Rachel staring her backside was a nice thought to entertain. "There's some fresh fruit in the bowl on the dining table, this pancake mix has butter in it."

_She remembered I'm vegan._ "Thank you," Rachel let her eyes linger on Santana's panty-covered ass for a few more moments before shaking her head at herself and turning to the table so she could examine the fruit. She picked an apple and a mango, and then went back into the kitchen where Santana was flipping the three pancakes she'd made. "Chopping board?" Rachel asked.

"Um, the whole counter over there," Santana pointed to the left of the stove, "is one massive chopping board, knives are over there, too, and I got you a plate," she took a plate from her right, placed it on the counter, and slid it over toward the knife holder.

Rachel took her fruit and moved to where the plate had stopped. _She looks so cute making breakfast in her underwear…_ Rachel took a smaller knife and quickly cut the fruit into bite-size pieces, plated them, and then leaned against the counter. Santana plated her pancakes, opened the fridge, got out her blackberry jam, and felt Rachel watching her as she put the dark spread on the flapjacks.

"What?"

"I've never seen anyone put jam on pancakes, before."

Santana shrugged, hopped on the counter to the right of the stove, and began eating her breakfast by folding the pancakes and eating them like calzones. "It's damn tasty."

Rachel smiled at the sight of Santana sitting on the counter in panties and a camisole, but looked away before she could get caught. "Silverware?" Santana pointed to a drawer and Rachel found a fork before eating her own breakfast as she leaned against the counter.

xxx

After they ate, Rachel followed Santana back up to the cheerleader's room where Santana proceeded to silently go over cheer routines from a folder at her desk. Rachel watched Santana from the bed, taking in every movement, every breath; she was a little mesmerized.

"You don't have any weekend plans, right?"

Santana's voice made Rachel jump, but Santana didn't see because her back was to Rachel as she sat at her desk. "That is correct."

"You wanna stay the night, again?"

Santana still hadn't turned towards her, and Rachel was glad Santana couldn't see her shocked expression. "That sounds like a lovely idea." Santana nodded once, and then just continued to go over her routines. "I just need to call my parents."

Just as Rachel said that, Santana's phone began buzzing on the desk. She picked it up, answered the call, and began speaking very quickly in Spanish. Her words were hushed, and Rachel only caught a few words, "safe," "angel," and, "hello." Rachel reprimanded herself – she really needed to stop eavesdropping – and stepped out of the room into the hall to call home.

"_Yellow?"_

"Hi, daddy," she leaned up against a wall and held the phone to her right ear.

"_What's up, sweetheart, is everything alright?"_

"Everything's fine. I'm just calling to ask if it would be okay if I spent the night at Santana's again?"

"_Well yeah, Ray, that would be okay. Is… are you alright? You sound different." _

Rachel sighed and glanced towards the bedroom door, where all she heard was silence; Santana must have ended her call. "Hold on, daddy." Rachel held the phone to her chest, popped her head into the bedroom, and said, "Santana, I'm just going to take my call downstairs, okay?" Rachel received a dismissive wave from Santana, so she put the phone back to her hear and went down to the kitchen. "Daddy?"

"_I'm here, Ray."_

"I think I'm developing feelings for her."

The other end was silent for a few seconds before Hiram said, _"And it's freaking you out?"_

"A little bit, yes."

"_Is it because she's a girl?"_

"No, that doesn't bother me at all. It's because it's _her_. I never once thought I'd ever have feelings for someone who used to be so needlessly mean to me on a daily basis," Rachel shook her head, even though she knew her daddy couldn't see her. "But I'm really enjoying her company."

"_Sweetheart, you just call me if you need me to come get you, okay? Or if you need to talk more, or anything. I love you."_

"I will, I love you, too," Rachel hit end, closed her eyes, and took a deep sigh. _What do I do about this?_ Rachel honestly wasn't bothered by the fact that she was attracted to a woman; the idea actually intrigued her. But the mean girl who used to have a different insult for Rachel each day was not the same person as the girl upstairs. She sighed again, and then thought about what might happen if she entered into a relationship with Santana. They would most likely have to date in secret; and Finn probably wouldn't be able to stand it. Rachel scowled at the thought of the tall boy, and walked back up to Santana's room before she could waste any more time thinking about him.

"Everything cool?" Santana was filing her nails as she sat in the middle of her bed, and Rachel sat down a little ways away from her.

"Yes." Rachel watched the filing motion with a furrowed brow, and, not for the first time, wondered something she was curious about. "Why do you keep your nails so short?"

Santana's actions stilled and she stared at the hand she was so carefully attending. "Uh…" Did Rachel seriously not know the answer to that question? _When the hell did I become shy about this sort of thing?_ Santana stared at her hand some more, and realized the reason she was trying to find a delicate way to answer was because she didn't want to scare Rachel off, or offend her in case she left. "Can I be blunt?"

"I suppose so, yes," Rachel responded. She didn't see why Santana would need to be blunt, it was an innocent enough question.

"When I was still having sex with Brittany, it became a habit."

Rachel adopted a light blush, but she still didn't make the connection. "I don't see what that has to do with-"

"Rachel, if my nails were too long, I might've ended up hurting her."

Rachel's blush darkened considerably. "Oh." Suddenly, Rachel's mind was attacked with imaging of Santana using her well manicured fingers to do things that made her blush even harder.

"You okay?" Santana put the file down on her bed and tried hard to suppress her smile at Rachel's pink cheeks.

"I just," Rachel swallowed and willed her eyes to look at anything but Santana's fingers. "I wasn't expecting that to be your answer."

Santana shrugged and hopped off her bed. "Sorry to make you uncomfortable." She grabbed the file, put it on her desk, and went to fiddle with her television.

"It's fine," Rachel looked at Santana and then immediately shut her eyes as Santana bent over at the waist in her light grey panties, and Rachel took a deep breath before staring at the ceiling. "I asked."

"Yeah, well," Santana leaned back up, turned the TV on, and smiled as Mario Kart appeared on the screen. "I haven't gotten any for months, but I just had them short for so long that I don't feel right with long nails, anymore."

Rachel didn't say anything in response and only looked away from the ceiling when she felt the bed dip. "Mario Kart?"

"Yeah," Santana got comfortable on her stomach and handed Rachel a wireless controller. "You can't have Yoshi, though, he's mine."

"Yoshi is the green one, right?" Rachel took the controller and watched the screen as Santana bypassed all the menus for the character-choice screen.

They played for a few hours; long enough for Rachel to get comfortable with the controls, and for Santana to let Rachel win more than once. It was noon when Santana turned the TV off, and neither of them were wearing pants, yet. "Did you want to do something?"

"Like what?" Rachel set the game controller to the side and tucked some hair behind her ear.

"I don't know, we could go drive somewhere? We could walk to that park," Santana was already at her closet pulling clothes out to toss on her bed.

"Sure, that sounds nice." Rachel watched as Santana put two sets of clothes on the bed.

"I don't really have anything that's your style, but there are some shorts that'll probably fit, and a shirt you might be comfortable in," Santana looked at the other article of clothing on the bed she'd left, and decided she didn't need to explain it. "I'm just gonna take a shower."

Rachel looked at the clothes Santana had left; there were a pair of jean shorts, a lace-trim blue camisole, a darker blue v-neck teeshirt, and – Rachel blushed – white cotton panties. She got off of the bed, gave herself a once over in the mirror in the bedroom door, and then changed into the clothes. She went back to the mirror to appraise herself. She was mildly uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing. Her running shorts had gotten a little dirty from her fall, and she was glad Santana had offered clean clothing.

Rachel waited, and it wasn't long before Santana was out of the bathroom in a tight dress and hair dryer-blown hair.

xxx

Santana was fixing the zipper of her shoes near a park bench when a guy Rachel didn't know started walking towards them. He wasn't paying Rachel any mind; his sights were set on Santana. "Hey!" Rachel said in warning, and while Santana's attention was on Rachel, the guy reached over and squeezed Santana's sides from where he'd stopped behind her.

Santana shouted and spun around to see who'd touched her, and then rolled her eyes at the laughing fifteen-year-old boy in front of her. "You're gonna get your ass kicked one of these days, you know that?"

He held his sides with a big grin on his face as he kept laughing. "It won't be by you, though," he smiled at Santana before pulling her into a hug.

Rachel marveled at the exchange. The boy was a a few inches taller, with short, styled black hair and a slightly fairer skin tone than her own. He was in dark jeans, black Oxfords, and a black and grey striped sweater. "Santana?" Rachel asked.

Santana pulled out of the embrace and smiled when she turned towards Rachel and the boy slipped an arm around her waist. "Um, Rachel," she looked at Rachel and smiled more at her confused expression, "this is Angel, my little brother."

Rachel's eyebrows turned up in surprise. "I had no idea you had any siblings."

"She doesn't like to brag," Angel pulled his sister closer and she scoffed as she pushed him away.

"He goes to Carmel," Santana shrugged and swatted away his attempt to hug her again.

"I'm Rachel Berry, I'm very pleased to meet you," Rachel stuck out her hand and Angel shook it.

"Angel Lopez, nice to meet you, too," he smiled warmly at her, and now that Rachel really looked at him, she could clearly see the resemblance between Angel and Santana.

"You gonna be home, tonight?" Santana asked.

Angel scrunched his nose and shook his head as he turned to her. "No, I'll just stay with J, tonight, but I'll be home tomorrow."

"Is he here?" Santana looked around but didn't see who she was looking for.

"He's at his house, I just saw you walking by so I thought I'd come say hi. I should get back," he leaned down to hug her again, waved to Rachel, and then walked across the grass and out of the park.

"How come you never mentioned you had a brother?"

Santana shrugged. "How come you never asked?"

Rachel smiled bashfully and then realized she wanted to know more about Santana. She wanted to know about her family, about her life. "Do you have any other siblings?"

Santana shook her head. "Just Angel."

"Why haven't I seem him at your house?"

"Lately he's been staying with his um… his friend over the weekends," Santana sat down on a bench and finished fixing the zipper on her short boot.

"Are the two of you close? You seem like you're close," Rachel sat down next to Santana and crossed her legs.

"Yeah, we are." Santana's phone buzzed with a text and she answered it with a soft smile.

"I've never heard you talk about him, before," Rachel quietly stated.

Santana held her phone in her lap and stared at it. "I've never really had reason to talk about my personal life with you, you know?"

Despite Santana's malice-free tone, Rachel still felt her heart sink. "I suppose you're correct."

Santana put her foot back on the ground and lightly nudged Rachel's shoulder with her own. "I guess I have reason, now, though, or whatever."

"You- you do?" Rachel's surprise was evident in her voice.

Santana shrugged meekly and she kept staring at her lap. "No one's ever spoken to me the way you did, last night."

Rachel's heart was close to melting. "Santana…"

Santana rolled her eyes at herself, abruptly stood, shoved her hands in her jean pockets, and started walking down the path. Rachel quickly got up to follow her. "Santana?"

Rachel's innocent voice gave Santana chills, and she asked, "What?" without looking at the woman's face.

"Something has been bothering me for quite a while, and I feel like I need to get it off my chest."

_Fuck, she sounds so serious._ "Okay."

"Do you really smoke cigars to make your voice raspier?"

Santana smiled even though she didn't really want to, but she found her stomach knots being untwisted by Rachel's question. "I did, but only once, and it wasn't to improve my singing voice," she admitted.

"I meant what I said, then, you know," Rachel said from where she walked a pace behind Santana.

"What?"

"When you sang, it was- your rendition of Back to Black really was beautiful."

"I- thank you," Santana's brow furrowed and she swallowed dryly. She stopped suddenly and turned to Rachel, who was looking up at her soft eyes. "Are you hitting on me?"

Rachel bit the inside of her cheek and fiddled with her fingers, but she didn't look away from Santana's questioning stare. "Yes." Rachel searched for any bad signs on Santana's face, but found none. "Is that okay?"

Just for a moment, Santana glanced down to Rachel's lips, but just as quickly she looked away and continued walking. "I'm not going to be your science experiment, Berry." Santana walked through the path, around the park, out of it, and back to her house. Santana only knew Rachel was following her by the soft footsteps of her running shoes. Santana sat down on the couch in the living room, kicked off her shoes, and looked away when Rachel sat down next to her.

"I don't intend to use you for an experiment, or to use you at all."

"So… why-?"

"Because I enjoy spending time with you," Rachel looked down at her lap. "I didn't wake you up this morning because I didn't want to you to move."

Santana frowned. She hadn't really wanted to move, either, but she didn't want Rachel thinking she was clinging, or something. "Why not? Why do you want me anywhere you?"

Rachel's stomach lurched and she took a deep breath. She looked to her left at Santana's down-turned gaze, scooted closer, swung her leg over Santana's lap, tilted the woman's head up, and kissed her. Santana's mouth was unmoving, at first, but when Rachel pressed harder, Santana parted her lips just enough for Rachel to slip her tongue into Santana's mouth. Rachel pulled away, and she hadn't noticed that her hands had been on Santana's shoulders, and that Santana's hands had made their way to Rachel's bare thighs.

"Did- did you just kiss me?"

"My tongue slipped."

"All the way into my mouth?"

"I was just… checking to see if you had any knotted muscles."

Santana's heart was beating out of control. "And what's the verdict?"

Rachel shook her head. "I don't know." She slid her right hand up to cup the back of Santana's neck, leaned in, and kissed her again, and while the first kiss was soft, and testing, this one was wild, and Rachel more sure of herself as her tongue pushed against Santana's, her hand squeezed the back of Santana's neck, and her hips fought to stay still.

Santana's mind was reeling. Rachel was kissing her. _Rachel Berry _was on top of her and kissing her, and Santana was kissing back. _How did this happen? She feels so good… we were just talking and then suddenly she was on me. Oh, god, she just rolled her hips._ Santana's stomach muscles tightened as she felt the crotch of the jean shorts Rachel was wearing rub against her, and she slid her hands further up to grip Rachel's waist. Santana had mixed emotions about what was happening: first, she was really happy that Rachel was interested in her for more than friendship, but, second, and the part – the part that was making Santana want to pull away – was that she meant what she said about not being an experiment. She wasn't going to be Rachel's kiss and tell only for Rachel to go back to boys after a few weeks of living on the lezzy side of the street for a while. Santana pulled out of the kiss and kept her eyes closed as she took deep, calming breaths. "Why did you kiss me?"

"Because I want to be with you," Rachel said. "Last night, it hurt me to think that you took Finn's words to heart. It hurt _me_ that you were sad, and I think I just realized that that can't have happened for no reason. Here," Rachel took one of Santana's hands from her waist and held the palm of it to her chest.

Rachel's heart was thudding hard against Santana's hand.

Rachel sighed and moved back against the couch armrest so she was facing Santana. She shrugged and held her knees to we chest as she tried to keep from breaking eye contact. "My heart's beating really quickly," Rachel admitted. "And I think I'm a little nervous."

"Yeah, well," Santana rubbed at her forehead, "you just mounted me and stuck your tongue in my mouth." She gave Rachel a small smile. "I think I'm a little nervous, too."

* * *

**A/N:** I'm working on a third chapter, but don't keep your hopes up about a quick update. Thanks for reading, don't forget to please leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Pairing: **Rachel/Santana  
**Rating (for this chapter): **NC-17**  
Word count (for this chapter):** ~12,000  
**A/N: **Just so everyone knows, I stopped watching Glee after the season 3 prom episode. I don't know about any of the new characters or what's going on with old ones because I honestly don't care to. I'm upset with how the writers/creators handled everything, so they lost me as a viewer.  
That doesn't mean I don't still love using the characters I'm familiar with in my fics, though.

* * *

"So, we're both nervous," Rachel closed her eyes and took a breath, and she jumped at the sound of the front door opening.

"Mis hijos?"

Santana abruptly stood and jogged to the front door, where she wrapped her arms around the man who had just walked into the house. "Hi, papi."

"Hey, mija. Is Angel home? Unless they call me in, I'm done for the day, I was thinking we could go out for dinner." He let Santana go, shrugged off his overcoat, and hung it in a closet near the front door as he slipped off his shoes.

"He's at Jason's, I can text him if you want." Santana pulled her phone out but the man stopped her.

"No, let him be, we can do this another time. Just you and me tonight, then?"

"Um, no." Rachel watched as Santana seemed to go from eighteen years old to eight in a matter of seconds. Her demeanor changed, she held her hands together in front of her, she stood with her feet together, and she said, "Papi, this is my friend, Rachel."

Santana's father looked confusedly behind his daughter and then saw Rachel, standing quietly in front of the couch. Rachel smiled a little shyly, and tried not to think about how she'd just been in Santana's lap. "Hello."

"I didn't see you," he smiled brightly and moved forward with an outstretched hand. "Julio Lopez," he shook her hand firmly. "Very pleased to meet you, Rachel. Are you joining us for dinner?"

"Rachel's staying the night."

"That's a yes, then," he smiled wider and clapped his hands together, but his joyous expression fell when a loud beeping sound began blaring from his pocket. He sighed deeply with a frown as he pulled the small device out and looked at the screen. "I gotta go, mija."

Santana shrugged and opened her arms as her father turned around and walked into the hug. "That's okay."

"Mess up Angel's hair for me," Julio kissed the top of his daughter's head and then moved to get his coat. As he slipped it on, he said, "I'm sorry I can't stay, Rachel, but it was nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll see each other again, soon."

"Yes, you, too!" Rachel waved at the man as he left, and then she looked back to Santana. "Is he away very often?"

"Yeah," Santana shrugged again. "I mean, he's in the running for Chief of Surgery," she started walking for the stairs. "The hospital is where he spends most of his time."

"Does that bother you?"

"It used to when Angel and I were kids, you know, having to deal with a babysitter and all that bullshit," Santana walked into her room and flopped onto her bed. "But now he and I are older and we can both take care of ourselves and each other."

There was a nagging question at the back of Rachel's mind, and she wanted to ask it almost as much as she wanted to keep it locked away. Santana must have noticed Rachel's odd expression, because she asked, "What is it?"

"I don't want to be rude."

Santana sat up. "Just ask."

"Where- where's your mom?"

Santana clenched her jaw and swallowed before she spoke again. "She died shortly after Angel was born."

Rachel's stomach dropped and her hands turned to fists. "You don't have to talk to me about this if you don't-"

"She had a sudden brain aneurism. Neither Angel nor I remember very much about her. Just pictures, and stories," Santana sighed. "Don't feel awkward about asking. Tell me something I don't know about you."

"I- I-" Rachel looked around the room, feeling sad at the new information she'd been told, but also trying to not be awkward. She saw a stuffed animal dog on a shelf. "I've never had a pet."

Santana smiled. "Me, neither. Ask me another question?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "Before, at the park, you hesitated when you said Angel was staying with his friend. Why did you hesitate?"

Santana sighed. "Angel is one of my closest friends, you know?"

Rachel just nodded.

Santana spoke quietly. "You remember what I said before, about it being an unspoken rule?"

Rachel sat down on the bed next to Santana. "Yeah?"

"My brother is clever enough for me to not need to say anything for him to know, just like I don't need for him to say anything for me to know that his friend Jason is more than just his friend."

"But you don't talk about it?"

Santana shook her head. "Not directly."

"How do you mean?"

"Like… B and I would be watching Sweet Valley downstairs, and Angel would walk past us for the kitchen and he'd give me this dirty little smirk," Santana's lips turned up in a smile. "And how his study sessions with Jason in his room always lasted way longer than it takes to finish freshman history homework. And I'd hip-check Angel when Jason left like five hours after he'd arrived." Santana's eyes were crinkled at the corners as her smile widened at the memory.

Rachel grinned, and then her eyes wandered over Santana's happy face. Rachel wanted to kiss her, again. So Rachel told her. "I want to kiss you, again."

Santana's smile faded and she licked her lips. "So kiss me, then."

Rachel felt her heart beating loud in her chest as she stepped closer to the bed, and she nervously climbed onto to mattress next to Santana. Instead of just going in for the kiss, Rachel kept eye contact with Santana and moved to the head of the bed so she could lie down with her head on a pillow. Santana moved towards her, and lay down next to her. "Keep your hands above my belt and below by bra."

Santana gave a small smile and then leaned over Rachel. "You're giving me parameters?" She slid her left hand over Rachel's stomach and lightly gripped her waist. "Make out parameters?"

"Y- yes," Rachel tried to remember to breathe as Santana's hand moved up to her ribs. "I need you to know that I'm not ready to do anything more than this." She tensed her stomach and leaned up just enough for Santana to meet her in the kiss.

Rachel's head hit the pillow and Santana sighed happily against her cheek. "That's okay. I don't need to do anything other than this."

Rachel smiled. "Liar."

Santana raised her eyebrows and leaned up to look at Rachel. "Excuse me?"

"Santana, you know just as well as I do that I wasn't lying that time I said girls want it just as much as boys do."

Santana shifted back and shrugged. "Well, yeah."

"Physically intimacy is important to me," Rachel said. "And I really like kissing you."

Santana smiled briefly before she asked, "But…?"

"But kissing is the only thing I'm ready to give you, right now."

Santana leaned back over Rachel and slid her hand onto the middle of the smaller brunette's stomach. "Rachel, I really like kissing you, too. You don't need to give me anything you don't want to." She grinned a little deviously. "You, on the other hand," she took Rachel's hand and unceremoniously placed it on her own chest. "Can take anything you want." Rachel's mouth was open in shock at the feel of Santana against her palm, and Santana took the opportunity to lean back in for a kiss. When their lips met, she squeezed Rachel's hand with her own and felt heat rise in her body when Rachel moaned.

Rachel broke the kiss with a gasp. "I don't- oh my god- I don't want this."

"Liar." Santana pressed forward and held Rachel's hand against herself. If Rachel didn't want this, she'd have pulled her hand away.

"That's not what I-" Rachel breathed out a tense breath through her mouth and closed her eyes. "I want you to be able to do this, too. If you can't, right now, then I shouldn't be able to, either."

"But you feel good."

"But it's not fair to you."

"But I'm getting something out of this, too. Shut up and put your other hand on me." Santana sat up on Rachel's hips and took her other hand.

"Oh, god," Rachel could feel how warm Santana was, even through the minimal padding of her bra, and Rachel felt everything stirring in her that she had never felt with anyone else.

"If I take my hands away, will you keep yours on my tits?"

Dazed, Rachel nodded.

"Good." Santana moved her hands to Rachel's shoulders and then leaned down to take Rachel's lips in another kiss, and she smiled when she felt Rachel gently press at her with just a little bit more pressure. Santana kept a hand on Rachel's stomach and left her right hand on the pillow next to Rachel's head, supporting her weight as she let Rachel feel her.

"I never-" Rachel mumbled, "With Finn, it was never-"

Santana was about to place another kiss to Rachel's bottom lip when those words put her off. "Rachel, are you seriously thinking about him while your hands are on my chest?"

"You feel better right now than he ever did."

Santana shrugged. Of course she felt better than him. And Rachel felt really good, too. She moved forward and kissed the corner of Rachel's mouth and that heat made itself known again when Rachel pressed at her with her palms, and Santana exhaled tensely through her nose. Rachel was right: she _did_ want more, but Santana actually wanted to wait. Sex never really was important to her, but somehow Rachel felt different. Like it would be worth it in the end if she waited.

Rachel smiled and felt her confidence growing with every second Santana was on top of her, and she gently massaged the soft fabric-covered breasts in her hands. She didn't miss the way Santana's eyes fluttered closed before she leaned up and brought their lips together again. Rachel's sureness began to falter when she felt Santana's warm fingers begin to play with the bottom hem of her sweater. "Wh-what are you doing?"

Santana grinned and kissed Rachel's bottom lip. "Above your belt, below your bra," she slowly slid her hand under Rachel's sweater, and she kissed Rachel again when her fingertips touched soft skin. "Let me feel you?"

Rachel felt heat blossom from Santana's touch and flood to her face and in her jeans, and her cheeks flushed even more. She gave the slightest nod of her head, and she let out a shaky moan against Santana's lips as a strong hand slid up her stomach. Soft fingertips pressed against her ribs, and Rachel found her hips involuntarily moving, subtly rolling against Santana.

Santana closed her eyes and gently scratched at Rachel with short nails. "Don't," Rachel's hips kept moving, and Santana dropped her forehead to Rachel's.

Rachel tilted her head and sighed against Santana's lips, and she whispered, "Don't what?"

"I'm trying hard to follow your rules, Rach," Santana said, and Rachel smiled at the nickname. "But all I want to do is just move against your leg until I come, and you're not making it easier by moving your hips like that."

Rachel thought she had been warm before, but now it felt as if her whole body was suddenly immersed in hot steam. "I want you to."

"What?"

"Not- not now," Rachel took a calming breath and sat up a little bit, moving her hands from Santana's chest to her waist and causing Santana to sit up as well. Santana kept her hands on Rachel's waist under her shirt. Rachel laughed a little nervously. "I don't think I've ever been so turned on, before."

A whiny groan escaped Santana's throat. "Don't tell me that."

"I… Do you want to stop for a while? I think I need to cool down."

Santana gave Rachel's waist a little squeeze; she licked her lips, and nodded. She sat up completely, got off of the bed, and rubbed her forehead. "Are you hungry?" Rachel nodded. "Feel free to wait downstairs and rummage around in the kitchen, I'm going to take a shower."

Rachel understood that as a request for privacy, so she got up from the bed and walked out the door. As soon as Santana heard the handle mechanism click, she went straight for her closet and she ripped open her underwear drawer. She reached in the back, grinned when her fingers met what they were searching for, and she proceeded to toss the device on her mattress before she stripped down to nothing and climbed back on the bed.

xxx

Downstairs, Rachel found that she wasn't actually that hungry at all, so she sat on the bottom step of the staircase to wait for Santana. The house was quiet, and Rachel closed her eyes as she listened to the calm silence, but her eyes snapped open when she heard a high-pitched shout come from upstairs. Her stomach twisted in the best way, and she held her breath. The quiet filled her senses again, and a hand flew to cover her mouth when Santana's distinct voice called out, "Oh, fuck!" And then a series of loud moans and other curses. Rachel felt her arousal return at full force, and she stood quickly to be out of the way when Santana eventually came downstairs. Before she was fully upright, she reached for the banister to keep from falling down because of a sudden head rush. Santana was masturbating. Santana was masturbating, and she was doing it because of Rachel.

Rachel walked on wobbly legs to the living room where she quickly sat on the couch before she collapsed. She suddenly wished she was home, alone in her room, where she could take care of the delicious ache between her legs that Santana was solely to blame for, just like Santana was doing upstairs. Rachel closed her eyes and whined at the place her mind was taking her… She imagined Santana on her bed, completely naked, caressing her breast with her right hand while her left hand wandered lower, legs spread wide, and when her fingers reached the apex of her legs, they would be coated in copious wetness. Rachel moved her thighs together, trying and failing to add friction where she needed it. She pictured Santana teasing herself, using the tip of her middle finger to slide gently back and forth across her clit, causing her legs to twitch, and then after the pleasure would build up, she would bring her fingers just a little lower, where-

"Rachel?"

Rachel gasped and sat up straight, blushing hard at what she'd been thinking. "I'm here!" Rachel silently cursed the crack in the voice, and she cursed herself for making the ache between her legs even worse than it had been.

Santana opened the kitchen door and moved into the living room to take a seat at the other end of the couch from Rachel. She was in a long, white, fluffy bathrobe with hot pink stitching, and her hair was up in a smaller hair-towel. "Have you cooled down yet?"

Rachel pouted with closed eyes and she shook her head. She didn't trust her voice not to waver.

"I know you're not ready for the real thing," Santana said, her voice soft, "but would other stuff be okay?"

Rachel shook her head. "I- I- don't understand."

"Your rules will still apply. I won't break them. But I meant what I said about you taking anything you wanted from me," Santana reached over and took Rachel's hand. "Get in my lap and face me."

"What?"

"Grind on my thigh," Santana said. "I'll keep my hands on your waist."

Rachel thought she might pass out from all of the blood moving so quickly to her head. Santana's suggestion sounded unbelievably appealing. And it wasn't sex; both of them were clothed, and no one's hands would be going anywhere inappropriate. Rachel found herself slowly nodding her head, and she scooted across the couch so she could get on Santana's lap.

Santana smiled as Rachel's weight settled on her, and she moved her hands to Rachel's waist. "Hi."

Rachel sat down fully and honestly couldn't care what Santana had to say. There was a pressure hitting her in just the right spot, and she leaned forward to take those full lips in a kiss as she experimentally moved her hips forward. She let out a sharp breath into Santana's mouth and her voice faltered as she moaned. She moved again, back and forth, grinding down in little circles, all while doing her best to keep her lips connected with Santana's. Rachel didn't think it had even been a minute, and she already felt her orgasm about to hit its peak. "Oh," Rachel came with Santana's tongue in her mouth, and she might have fallen back onto the coffee table had Santana not caught her. With strong arms wrapped around her waist, Rachel's body gently shook, and she couldn't control her voice as her back arched and her fingers tightly gripped Santana's shoulders. She took deep, shaky breaths through her nose, and kept her eyes closed as the warm sensation lingered. Her eyes finally opened after Santana placed a gentle kiss to the side of her neck.

"Feel better?" Santana asked, and she continued to kiss Rachel's neck.

Rachel slid her hands up from Santana's shoulders, up her neck, and into hair, and guided their lips together to give Santana a proper kiss before she nodded and then closed her eyes. "Sleepy, though."

"So go take a nap, then," Santana helped Rachel to stand and lead the bleary woman to her room. She set Rachel on the edge of the bed, pulled the covers back, and Rachel got under them, herself. "I'll be downstairs."

"Mhm," Rachel murmured, and then Santana left the room.

xxx

Rachel woke up to Santana slipping user the covers. "Santana?"

"It's eleven-twenty, go back to sleep," she turned onto her stomach and sighed sleepily.

"What?" Rachel dopily sat up and rubbed her eye, trying to blink away the dark and adjust her vision.

Santana made a quiet groaning noise. "It's twenty after eleven, go back to sleep."

Rachel flopped back onto the pillow. "What have you been doing?"

"Watching TV, playing Black Ops, watching more TV," Santana yawned.

"Don't let me sleep so long, next time."

Santana hummed. "Okay."

Rachel reached her hand over and brushed Santana's hip. She was just wearing a shirt and panties. In response to the touch, Santana rolled and kissed Rachel's jaw, and then her neck. "Santana…"

Santana slid her hand over the middle of Rachel's stomach. "Rachel." Santana tilted her head up and found Rachel's lips, kissing her unhurriedly.

Sometime during her nap, Rachel had removed her jeans, and quietly groaned against Santana's lips when their bare legs slid together. "Santana," Rachel gasped when a warm hand snuck under her shirt to rest on her stomach.

"Hm?" Santana slid her hand a little higher, so her fingers were just below Rachel's ribs.

"Pants."

Santana pulled back and looked at Rachel curiously. "What?"

Rachel smiled and placed a hand on Santana's neck and slid it up to cup part of her jaw. "Our bare legs are just… just getting a little too personal." That had sort of happened before, Rachel realized, but she hasn't been so acutely aware of the way Santana's touch sent heat flooding to her core, then.

Santana scooted back and then fumbled with the covers. When she moved back, she smiled. She'd made a barrier with a bit of the comforter between her legs and Rachel's. "There. You wanna kiss me some more?"

Rachel grinned for a second before she pushed on Santana's shoulder and switched their positions. "Cheeky."

Santana took Rachel hands and moved it up from her stomach to her right breast and she smiled when Rachel's breath shortened. "Well, yeah."

"I'll just get worked up again…" Rachel moved her hand back to Santana's stomach.

"Isn't that the point?"

Rachel smiled softly and leaned down to give Santana's smirking lips a kiss. "You work me up too fast, and it's not fair."

Santana quietly sighed and closed her eyes. "Alright," she said. "Then you should go back to sleep."

"Yes," Rachel moved to the side and giggled as Santana kicked the covers back so the bed was evenly covered. "Goodnight."

""Night."

xxx

It was two in the morning and Rachel hadn't fallen asleep, yet. She shouldn't have taken that nap, earlier. At around midnight, shortly after Santana had nodded off, the cheerleader had taken off her shirt in her sleep and then pressed herself against Rachel, spooning her from behind. They were both without pajama pants, just wearing underwear, but Rachel couldn't bring herself to think of anything but the bare breasts against her back and shoulders. The camisole she was wearing wasn't acting as much of a barrier, and her mind was going wild with thoughts that kept making her blush.

One image in particular kept rolling through her head, of Santana climbing on top of her and physically taking Rachel's hands and placing them on her breasts, like she had done earlier. Rachel sighed tensely and she felt her face heat up at the thought of touching Santana like that without any barriers. Suddenly Santana sat up behind her and Rachel held her breath.

Very sleepily, Santana slowly muttered, "The fuck happened to my shirt?" Instead of finding one to put back on, she just shifted and fell onto her stomach, with her face turned away from Rachel.

Rachel looked to her left and let out a tense sigh. Santana was shirtless, asleep, and right next to her. Rachel wanted to do more than kiss Santana, but she honestly didn't think she was ready for it. Not emotionally, anyway. She sighed, then, turned over, and closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep.

xxx

Another week had passed at school, and, again, Santana had not communicated with Rachel at all. It was Friday, and The Troubletones had just kicked vocal ass with their Adele mashup. Santana was putting her duffle and backpack in the trunk of her car, getting ready to head home for the weekend.

"We were totally better." Brittany grinned as she skipped over to give Santana a hug. "We're totally going to win."

"For sure, B," Santana grinned. "We kicked ass."

Brittany pulled out of Santana's arms and leaned against her red car in the parking lot. "When do we find out the winner?"

"Monday, probably."

"But that's like… two whole days from now."

"Yeah, B."

"Cause it's the weekend."

"Yeah, B."

Brittany maneuvered herself so she was in front of Santana, so the brunette was between her and the car. "You wanna spend the weekend with me?"

Santana's stomach seemed to fill with fluttering butterflies in an instant. "What?"

"I miss you, Sanny," Brittany pouted. "And I really super duper miss our sexy times. Don't you?"

Santana bit the inside of her cheek and she subconsciously ran her eyes down the length of Brittany's tall body. She shouldn't. Santana knew she shouldn't, and knew the reason why, but… but she and Rachel weren't exclusive, right? Rachel never said she didn't want Santana seeing anyone else. Rachel never said. "Yeah," Santana replied, "I do."

Brittany grinned. "Kay," and she moved from in front of Santana to skip around to the passenger her side of the car.

Santana got in with a stony expression, but buckled up anyway and tried to shake the bad feeling that was crawling up her stomach as she pulled out of the parking lot and started driving home.

xxx

Santana lay panting on her back with Brittany sprawled across her stomach. She had a large, painful knot in her gut, and she knew it was there because of the decision she'd made. She had never felt this guilty for sleeping with someone, before. Rachel never said they were exclusive, so why should she feel like this?

Brittany giggled from on top of her. "That's so what I've been missing." Just then, Santana's phone began ringing with a tune from Wicked, and Brittany grabbed the device from the nightstand before Santana could get it, first.

"Hi!"

_"Santana?"_

"San just got her mind blown, she'll call back when I'm done with her."

Santana snatched the phone away and put it to her ear. "Hello?" Silence. "Rachel?" Santana heard a quiet click, and the line was dead. _Fuck._ "Brittany, I need you to leave."

"Why?"

Santana's stomach hurt. She loved Brittany, she really did, but Santana was now realizing that she wasn't _in love_ with Brittany like she thought she was. "I'm just suddenly not feeling well, B, and I don't want you to start feeling sick, too."

"I bet I could make you feel better."

"Come on, B," Santana got out of bed and went to her bathroom to turn the water on in her shower. "I know Suzy prefers it when you stay at home."

"Fiiine," Brittany rolled over and began getting dressed from her things on the floor.

"Want me to give you a ride?"

"Nah, I'll count birds on the walk home. See ya, San. Get better."

As soon as Brittany was out of her room, Santana got into her shower and cleaned herself thoroughly. She threw on a pair of sweatpants, a red tank top, and her cheerios jacket, and she didn't bother tying her sneakers as she rushed out of her house and to her car.

xxx

"Is Rachel home?"

"She's in her room," Leroy stepped aside and let Santana into his house.

"Thanks." Santana made her way upstairs and quietly opened Rachel's bedroom door to see a shaking lump under the covers on the bed. Santana's mouth pulled into a frown. "I'm sorry."

Rachel gasped and sat up quickly. "I don't want to see you."

"Let me explain."

"Explain what? That you told me only days ago that you didn't need more from me physically and then you deliberately went out to get it from someone else?"

Santana felt her eyes stinging. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to see you."

"I'm sorry."

"I am, too. It was foolish of me to enter into any kind of relationship with you. Leave, Santana. Don't come back."

Santana's face twisted and her vision blurred with spilling tears. This was not the first time she had cheated, but it had never hurt like this, before. "Please…" Her arms went to cover her stomach, and her hands clutched uselessly at the sides of her red jacket. "Please, I don't- I don't-"

"You don't what?"

"I can't lose you!" Santana's left hand moved to cover her mouth, and she felt her chest shaking with trapped sobs. She hated this. Santana felt exposed, and her instincts to flee kicked into overdrive. She turned and quickly walked back out of the room, and she didn't even hear either of Rachel's parents calling her name as she passed them on her way out the front door.

Rachel hadn't stopped crying since she'd heard Brittany's perky voice answering Santana's phone. Even though she was hurting more than she ever remembered, she knew she was lying when she said she didn't want to see Santana.

Rachel hiccupped once and then sighed heavily. She went into her bathroom, washed her face, and then got her keys from her nightstand. Downstairs, her parents were making something in the kitchen. "I'm going out."

"Okay," Hiram wiped his hands on a small towel. "Will you be gone long?"

Rachel nodded. "Don't wait up, okay?" She walked into the kitchen and hugged first Hiram and then Leroy.

As she opened the front door she heard her dad say, "Be safe," and she walked down to her car. The drive to Santana's was quick, and she parked behind the cheerleader's red sport scar in the driveway. Angel answered the door when she knocked.

"Hi," he said. "Um, come on in."

Rachel stepped into the house and her gaze immediately went to the stairs. "Is she-?"

"She's in her room. She's pretty upset."

Rachel frowned. "May I-?"

Angel just nodded, and Rachel headed up the stairs. Santana's door wasn't completely shut, and Rachel slowly pushed it open. The sheets and pillows and comforter were strewn on the floor, and Santana was sitting on her empty mattress. She was silently crying as she clutched her left hand to her chest, and Rachel's stomach dropped when she saw that the knuckles were bloody.

"Your hand."

Santana jumped at Rachel's voice, but she just softly frowned and looked down at her hand. "I took a shower before I went to your house. It didn't feel like it used to."

"What did you do to your hand?"

Santana looked up at Rachel. "I broke someone's fence."

"Santana," Rachel walked over and pulled Santana up by her right hand. She led the woman to the bathroom, sat her on the edge of the tub, and began rummaging around for first aid supplies. She found some white bandages and tape, and a bottle of antibacterial liquid along with some small gauze pads.

"Give me your hand," Rachel kneeled in front of Santana with her hands held up, palms up. Santana placed her hand in Rachel's, and she gritted her teeth at the cool sting of the antibacterial liquid as Rachel gently dabbed at her knuckles with a damp piece of gauze. Once the cuts were clean, Rachel carefully wrapped Santana's hand, almost like she might have had she been assisting Santana before a boxing match. She made sure the bandage was secure with the tape, and then just sat there for a moment, holding Santana's mended hand in hers.

Santana thought this moment of silence was an opportunity for forgiveness, and she leaned down, brushing hair out of Rachel's face with her right hand as she went. Rachel recoiled and put her hand up in warning. "I'm not ready to let you in, right now."

"I don't want to lose you."

"Then don't." Rachel stood and walked back into the bedroom, and Santana followed. Rachel stood by the bed. "I trusted you."

Santana drifted to the other side of her bed, trying to give Rachel space. "Tell me what I can do to get your trust back."

Rachel's eyes were watering, again. "Tell _me_ that you won't do this again. That you won't hurt me."

Santana pouted. "I can't promise that."

Rachel stayed silent for a about a minute before she asked, "What do you mean it didn't feel like it used to?"

"I'm not in love with her," she said. "Not like I used to be. I still love her and she's by best friend, but I'm not in love with her anymore."

"Who- whose idea was it?"

"Does it matter?"

"I don't know."

"Hers."

"I suppose it doesn't matter. I want you to hold me. For you to tell me this feeling will go away," Rachel put her arms up when Santana started to move closer. "But I'm still so mad at you."

"Would it help if you hit me? I am actually curious to see how badly that slap of yours will sting."

Rachel smiled even though she really didn't want to, and then she frowned. "I don't like feeling like this. My stomach hurts, and my heart feels like it's aching."

"Do you want to leave?"

Rachel closed her eyes and shook her head. Santana pouted. "I'm so sorry, Rachel."

"How is your hand?"

"It's not bothering me. I want to-" Santana just wanted to take Rachel into her arms, to feel her, to apologize and be instantly forgiven. "I'm going to go to Angel's room. It's down the hall. Stay here?" When Rachel nodded, Santana walked out of room and to Angel's door, and she knocked.

"Come in."

She opened the door and Angel and Jason were cuddled together on Angel's bed watching some psychological thriller on a laptop. "San?"

Santana stood frowning in Angel's doorway.

"JJ, will you give us a minute?"

"Yeah, I'll go make some popcorn."

Jason slid out from under the covers and Santana immediately walked to the bed to take his place. The door shut, and Santana broke down into unrestrained sobs.

"Oh, San."

"How could I have been so stupid?"

"Because you can be a massive dumb shit, sometimes, San."

"What if she decides that I'm not worth the effort?"

"You're being a dumb shit again if you think you're not worth anyone's effort."

"I really like her, and I never expected to, and what if she can't forgive me for this?"

"Then you stop being dumb and you fight for her. Go, right now, and make it better. I'm gonna go help Jason."

He kissed her on the forehead and walked out of his room, leaving the door open. Santana opened her door to see that Rachel had pulled new bedding and pillows from her closet, made the bed, and was asleep under the covers. A pair of jeans and Rachel's bra was on the floor, and Santana let out a relieved sigh. Rachel was staying the night. It was only seven, but Santana hoped that this meant Rachel was staying. Santana decided to let Rachel sleep in peace and she left the room to go downstairs. She found Angel and Jason in the kitchen, and she smiled through a cringe and squinted eyes. Jason had Angel pushed against the counter, and the two boys were locked in a heated kiss as Jason cupped Angel through his jeans.

"J, you mind keeping your tongue in your own mouth while I'm present?"

Immediately, Jason swiveled around with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry, S. You know that sometimes I just can't help myself." His expression turned to a smile when strong, tan arms slid to wrap around his stomach.

"I'm just that irresistible," Angel smiled and kissed the back of Jason's neck.

Santana hopped onto the counter and frowned as her stomach growled. "Have you two eaten, yet?"

"JJ made some spaghetti earlier with Italian sausage and tomato sauce, there's a lot left in the fridge if you want to heat some up for you and Rachel?"

Santana shook her head and got off of the counter to search the fridge. "She's vegan, I can't give her that. Thanks for the suggestion, though." She found a bag of baby carrots and a fresh red bell pepper, and she decided to make a pot of rice. She knew there was at least a quarter of a bottle of sriracha left, and some soy sauce, and maybe even a bottle of some sort of stir-fry sauce somewhere in the pantry. After she got the rice cooking, Angel and Jason went back upstairs, she found stir-fry sauce, garlic, and an onion, and she went to work on making her and Rachel some vegan-friendly dinner.

By the time Rachel made her way downstairs, Santana was plating the food over a good portion of rice in two bowls, and she jumped when Rachel cleared her throat. "You scared me."

Rachel didn't speak and instead just walked up to Santana and let herself be taken into a hug. Almost immediately she felt her chest and throat constricting and her eyes welled with hot tears. Her body shook and her lips pulled into a deep frown as Santana held her tighter, and she clung to the woman's shoulders to keep her knees from buckling. Santana let her own frustrated tears fall, and she held Rachel long enough for their food to get cold.

When Rachel pulled back, her face was damp, her eyes puffy, and her complexion slightly blotchy. "I've been thinking," Rachel said. She looked at Santana with sad eyes, and Santana's heart felt like it was lodged in her throat. After the longest beat Santana thought she had ever waited through, Rachel said, "I can't lose you, either."

Santana's lips were in a pout when she quietly said, "I made you dinner."

Rachel looked at the floor. "I'm already tired of being mad at you. I want to still be so mad at you, but I'm just tired. Please don't sleep with someone else again. I don't forgive you. Not yet."

Santana nodded, grateful that Rachel was talking to her. "I never meant to hurt you."

Rachel closed her eyes and her head lolled forwards to rest against Santana's chest. "Don't do it again, Lopez," Rachel said, her tone sincere.

Santana shook her head and held Rachel's frame against her. "I'll try. I don't- I've never really…"

Rachel waited patiently for Santana to say what ever it was she trying to say. Santana smelled sweet, and her body was warm, and Rachel felt herself relaxing, even though she still wasn't ready to forgive.

"I want to try for something with you. Something that isn't just sex," Santana chastised herself. She did want to be with Rachel, and she potentially ruined everything with her stupid decision. Why would Rachel want to hear about what Santana wanted, right now? "It isn't the first time I've done this."

"Done what?"

Santana's throat felt tight, and the word came out as a strained whisper. "Cheated. I- I slept with Brittany all the time when I was fucking Puck," she shook her head. "I cheated on both of them. It never hurt me, though." She looked at Rachel with wet eyes. "When I heard your ringtone and Brittany answered the call, I felt like someone had punched me, because I _knew_ how hurt you would be," she looked at the ceiling and shook her head. "I can't understand how you're still here."

"Because I'm willing to fight for you," Rachel said, a resolved frown fixed to her face. "Even if you're the person I have to fight."

Santana's voice was scarcely more than a whisper. "I'm not worth it."

Rachel frowned angrily and she grabbed Santana by the chin. "I want you. Understand? No one else can have you. I want you to myself," Rachel looked into Santana's watery eyes and closed her own lids. "I want you to kiss me."

Santana pushed forward, eager to get on Rachel's good side, but a hand on her clavicle stopped her. "Don't. I still don't forgive you." She opened her eyes. "My body is ready to forgive you, but my mind isn't." Rachel gave a frustrated sigh and covered her eyes with her hand as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. "I'm just tired."

"Do- do you want a guest room?"

Rachel frowned but nodded, and she silently followed Santana upstairs and to a door down the hall opposite hers.

"This room has its own bathroom, it's the door just there," Santana pointed the bedroom doorway.

It was a small, square room, with the queen bed in the far right corner and the bathroom on the left wall. "Okay," Rachel said, and she stepped into the room and shut the door on Santana. It was a cold move, but Rachel felt she deserved to be a little cold.

Santana's mouth was pulled into a deep frown as she walked back downstairs. She wasn't even hungry, anymore. She covered the two plates of food she'd made with sheets of plastic wrap, put them in the fridge, and then walked back up to her room. Santana stripped herself of everything but her underwear, turned all the lights off, climbed into bed, and quickly fell into a restless sleep.

xxx

Rachel sat up in the guest bed at two-thirty, upset that she was so tired and couldn't fall asleep. She was even more frustrated because she knew exactly why she couldn't fall asleep. With a huff, she got out of bed and quietly walked out of the room and down the hall to Santana's room. She very slowly opened the door, snuck inside, silently closed it, and then took careful steps to Santana's bed. Santana was stomach-down on the side of the bed closest to the window, and Rachel gently pulled back the covers and climbed in. Her head hit the pillow and her senses were immediately filled with sweet warmth, and she felt her eyelids get heavy.

xxx

The next time Rachel opened her eyes, it was around five o' clock in the morning, the room was still pitch dark, and sometime in the night, she'd moved across the bed to spoon Santana from behind. Her right hand was resting on a bare stomach, and her whole body was flush with Santana's.

Rachel scooted back to the empty side of the bed and she slipped off of the mattress, carefully landing on her feet. She put her bra and jeans back on and was about to leave the room when a quiet voice stopped her.

"Don't go."

Rachel's chest ached, but then she thought about it and her brow furrowed in anger. She still wasn't quite ready to forgive Santana. "I'll see you at school on Monday."

xxx

Santana walked into the choir room with her heart in he throat. It was Monday, and she thought Rachel had just been really good at avoiding her. She hadn't seen or heard from the brunette at all since she'd left Santana's house on Saturday morning, and she was really hoping to see her in glee. "Where's Berry been? I haven't seen her all day and now she's late for glee?"

"Santana, didn't you hear?" Tina turned in her seat and with a concerned look, she said, "Rachel and her dads were in a car accident, they've been at the hospital since Sunday, or something."

Santana hadn't felt like throwing up so quickly in a very long time. Her stomach felt like it was going to jump into her throat, and at the same time, a pit in her gut just kept filling with emptiness. "What?"

"Geez, Santana," Quinn quirked an eyebrow from her seat in the back. "You look so worried. I didn't know you were friends."

"We're not," Santana stood up from her seat and began to walk down to the floor. "Not really."

"Hey, Santana," Mr. Schuester narrowly missed getting his shoulder clipped as she walked past him. "Where are you going? I've got a whole plan for sectionals. It's next month!"

Without even bothering to stop, or turn around, she blandly drawled, "I just remembered I've got something better to do than get my Kumbayas on with a bunch of no-talent losers."

She'd never sped so much since she had her license, and she was amazed that she wasn't pulled over on the way to Lima General. As soon as she was parked, she rushed into the building, ignoring the looks she was getting – she assumed it was because she was still in her cheerios uniform – walked up to the front desk, and, as calmly as her voice could muster, she said, "I'm here for Rachel Barbra Berry."

"Are you family?" The woman at the desk didn't look up from the computer screen as her nails made ticking noises when she typed on the keyboard.

"I'm- no, I'm her classmate."

"Alright," she tacked away at the keyboard for a few more seconds before she looked up. "There are three Berry names on my list, they're all on the seventh floor, rooms eighteen, nineteen, and twenty. Visiting hours are until nine o' clock."

Without thanking the receptionist, Santana scanned her surroundings for an elevator sign. When she found it, she quickly walked up to it and hit the button for up. After five seconds, the doors still hadn't opened, so Santana opened the stair doors to her right and started to book it as fast as she could. As she took the stairs two at a time, perverted images of Rachel with tubes sticking out of her every which way, and beeping monitors surrounding her hospital bed as ten doctors all stood around the bleak room shaking their heads. She nearly tripped when a different image of a faceless doctor covering Rachel's body with a white sheet assaulted her mind, and she started taking the steps three at time, instead of just two.

She passed the fourth floor, fifth, sixth, and when she finally reached floor seven, and she burst through so dramatically that the door nearly slammed into the wall as it swung open. Santana looked around and immediately saw signs for room numbers, but none of them were right, they were all too low. She followed a sign up on the ceiling that read '15-25', and it led her past another reception desk and down a hallway.

"Sixteen, seventeen," she expelled a breath, "room eighteen." Santana slowly moved to the window and her heart pounded in her chest when she looked inside. Leroy was asleep with a bandage wrapped around his head, and a book held to his chest. Her heart rate still hadn't slowed at all, and she moved on to the next room. Santana peaked into the window and saw Hiram, and her stomach dropped when she saw whom he was talking to. Her father only spoke to his patients, and his patients were only people who needed heart surgery. But, for the time being, Santana needed to keep her focus elsewhere. Room eighteen and nineteen were Rachel's parents, so that meant…

Santana swallowed the lump in her throat and moved on to room twenty. She couldn't bring herself to look into the window, so she just knocked twice. After a second, a quiet, "Come in," sounded from inside the room, and, with a shaking hand, she turned the cold doorknob and pushed the door open.

"Santana?"

Santana let out a relieved noise from her chest and could barely see where she was going before she collapsed diagonally across Rachel and pulled her legs onto the bed so she wouldn't fall off. "I didn't know until the end of school, today."

"I'm okay," Rachel placed her right hand on Santana's shoulder and nudged her so she would look up. "I'm sorry I didn't call you, my phone's been at my house all this time."

Santana sat up and backed off so she could survey the damage. Rachel's left forearm was in a cast, but other than that, and a small cut over her left eyebrow, Rachel looked practically unscathed. The feeling of dread was still in her chest, though, and even when she tried to fight it, she couldn't stop it when her mouth pulled into a deep frown. The same relieved sound left Santana's mouth and she covered her eyes with her hand, as if that would stop her crying.

"Come here," Rachel scooted to her left, pulled the covers back, and patted the empty part of the mattress. Rachel had decided that she did forgive Santana as she was driving home on Saturday morning. She wanted to let her feelings marinate until Monday, but she didn't have the chance to tell the cheerleader because of the accident. Santana didn't hesitate to crawl over Rachel and settle in by her side. Rachel closed her eyes at the feel of Santana nestled in closely next to her, and she tried to hold in the contented sigh she wanted to expel as Santana's arm snaked across her stomach. "What are you doing here?"

"Tina said you'd been in a car accident, so I ditched glee to come see you."

"You left glee club for me? But it's the best part of your day."

"When she told me, I almost threw up. I sped all the way here, and I ran up the stairs because the elevator was taking too long." Rachel was quiet, so Santana asked, "Are your dads okay?"

"My dad has a mild concussion, and my daddy just has a bad bruise from the seatbelt."

"But I saw my dad talking to him."

"He was talking to both of them, he wanted to meet them."

"Oh."

"Are you okay now?"

Santana felt the lump forming in her throat again. She shook her head, turned on her side, held Rachel closer, and buried her face into Rachel's shoulder and the scratchy hospital bed pillow.

Rachel could feel Santana quietly shaking as the crying woman clung to her, and Rachel didn't know how to react. She had no idea that Santana cared that much about her, and her body was starting to react for her. She twisted and turned and, with her good arm, she turned Santana's face, leaned down, and kissed her. "I'm okay," Rachel kissed here again, "and I'm not going anywhere," she kissed Santana one more time, "and I forgive you."

Santana took shuddering breaths through her nose and her eyes closed as Rachel kept kissing her softly.

"The doctor said I can go home, tonight," Rachel sat up a little and nudged Santana so she would do the same. "My parents have to stay here for one more night of observation. I don't want to be by myself."

"I'll take you home with me," Santana rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and sighed.

There was a knock on the door and Santana almost jumped out of the hospital bed. Rachel giggled at her, and Santana rolled her eyes before getting off of the bed and sitting in the chair right next to it.

"Come in," Rachel said, and then her doctor came into the room.

"Okay, Rachel, I've got your discharge papers all ready for you, I've marked the places you need to sign." The older woman smiled at Santana and handed the clipboard to Rachel.

Rachel quickly signed what she needed to and then handed the clipboard back to her doctor. "Okay, Rachel. You've got your meds?" Rachel nodded. "Well, alright. You can get dressed, and then you're free to go. Are you going home, tonight?"

"She's staying with me until her parents are in the clear." Santana said.

"Good. Rachel, your meds are likely to make you a little loopy, so it's better that you aren't alone when you take them."

Rachel nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Jones."

The doctor left the room, and Rachel swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Hey, stop." Santana stood up and put her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "Where are you clothes?"

Rachel looked at her curiously. "In the bathroom."

Santana quickly retrieved the clothes and then went back to the hospital bed. Santana got Rachel's underwear from the pile of clothes and delicately held them up by the hem. "Stand up."

"...Why?"

"How are you going to dress yourself with one hand?" Santana crouched down on the floor and held the garment so Rachel could step into them. "Come on."

Rachel swallowed and stepped into her panties, right foot first, and then her left. She held onto Santana's shoulder with her free hand, and watched Santana's face as warm hands pulled the underwear up her legs. Santana focused on Rachel's legs as her hands rose higher and higher, and when they disappeared under the hospital gown, Rachel's hand gripped her shoulder just a little tighter. She didn't hesitate as she slid the panties up completely, and then stood so she could get Rachel's dress.

"I- I could have done that, myself," Rachel stuttered, and she felt her face grow warmer at Santana's close proximity.

Santana leaned forward slightly and picked up Rachel's dress from the bed. "Not very well, I'd bet. Turn around."

A little unsure of why she was doing what Santana said, she obeyed, and then sucked in a small breath when she felt the ties of her hospital gown being undone. "What are you doing?"

"Undressing you."

Rachel felt heat rising in her, and she swallowed dryly. "Don't- don't look."

Santana smiled. "Your back's turned." She gently pushed the scratchy fabric off of Rachel's shoulders and it silently fell onto the floor. Santana gasped; Rachel had a large bruise on the top of her right shoulder, and it looked like it went all the way across her chest. "You've got-"

"It's from the seatbelt, it's okay," Rachel had her arms folded over her breasts. "Don't look."

"I won't." She took the dress and put it over Rachel's head. Rachel dutifully threaded her arms through the three-quarter sleeves, having only minor difficulty with her right arm, and then she held her breath as Santana zipped her up. "There. Did they give you anything for your bruise?"

Rachel shook her head. "I just have pain meds for my arm and headaches."

"We'll put some ointment on it when we're at my place. I have some stuff that'll help it to fade faster." Santana backed off and looked around for Rachel's shoes. She found them under a chair in the corner and brought them to Rachel, who was sitting down on the bed. The shoes were flats, and Rachel slipped them on with ease.

"I need to say goodbye to my parents and then we can leave," Rachel said. She put her bottle of pain medication in her bag, slipped it over her shoulder, and then headed for the door. She smiled when Santana opened it for her.

Santana waited by the elevators while Rachel spoke to her parents, and soon, they were on their way down to the parking lot. In the elevator, Santana pulled her hair out of its ponytail and ran her fingers through it, getting rid of any kinks.

Rachel watched her, and as the doors opened, she said, "I like your hair when it's down." She walked out of the lift and Santana stared dumbly after her for long enough for the doors to start to close. Santana stepped out and caught up with Rachel in the lobby. Neither of them said anything as Santana drove them back to her house.

When Santana parked, she quickly unbuckled herself and got out of the car so she could jog to the other side and open the passenger door for Rachel.

"Thank you," Rachel reached with her left hand and let Santana gently pull her out of the seat.

Inside the house, Jason was sitting on the couch in the living room as Angel stood at the DVD shelf. When he saw Rachel, he said, "Whoever did that better be in Cuba by now, 'cause I will personally go and kick their ass for you if they're not."

"Down, little brother," Santana smiled at Angel's protectiveness even though he'd only known Rachel for about a week.

"My parents and I got in a car accident," Rachel explained. "My dads will have to stay one more night at the hospital, so-"

"So she's staying here."

Jason sat up a little straighter. "Dads?"

"Yes," Rachel gave him a small smile, and she assumed that the redheaded boy must be Jason. "My parents' names are Leroy and Hiram."

Jason fell back and returned Rachel's smile. "Right on."

"Anyway," Santana put her hand on the small of Rachel's back. "I'm going to make food. You want to wait in my room or down here?"

Rachel looked to Jason, as if asking if she'd be imposing if she stayed. "I was just gonna watch Ange kill things in Skyrim," he shrugged.

"I'll stay down here, then?" Rachel had no idea what a Skyrim was, but it sounded more interesting than being by herself in Santana's room.

"Found it," Angel said. He went to work on setting everything up in front of the TV.

"Do you take your pain things now?"

Rachel sat down in one of the comfortable lounge chairs next to the couch and shook her head. "I have to eat, first."

"After dinner, then. I'll be right back down and then I'll get started making stuff," Santana left to go upstairs so she could change out of her uniform.

"So," Rachel started. "You both attend school at Carmel?"

"Yeah," Angel sat down next to Jason with a game controller in his hand. "We're on the lacrosse team."

"But it's football for sure, next year."

"You're not- are you…"

"What?"

Angel clicked various buttons on his controller and soon a loading screen appeared on the television.

"Are you out at school?"

"Oh," Jason said. "No, we're not. There's no way we would be tolerated on the sports teams, you know?"

"In junior high I remember there was one guy on the football team who came out and his own teammates beat him up so bad that he couldn't play anymore, like, ever," Angel scooted closer to Jason on the couch.

"And both of our families would not be down if they knew, you know?" Jason looped his arm through Angel's as the brunette boy began playing his game.

"I suppose high school just sucks," Rachel watched the graphics on the screen and cringed every time Angel's character would fight anything.

"Yeah, well," Angel gutted a bandit and then took his gold. "If anyone fucks with you, you know Santana will fuck with them right back. And I will, too."

Jason smiled as leaned over to place a kiss on Angel's cheek before resting his head on his shoulder.

Rachel's chest felt light, and her eyes glistened with happy wetness. "Thank you."

The conversation came to a stop, and the only words that were spoken from then on were from Jason, quietly encouraging Angel to kill everything in his path.

Rachel turned her head when she heard quiet footsteps on the stairs. Santana had changed into a pair of small red sleep shorts and a grey teeshirt, and when she walked into the kitchen, Rachel got up and followed her. "Hi."

"Hey," Santana stepped up to Rachel and pulled her into a hug.

Rachel was shocked for a moment before her eyes closed and she sighed contentedly. Santana always seemed to be warmer than she was, and Rachel found her body relaxing in the slightly taller woman's arms. "Hi…"

Upstairs, Santana had been trying hard to not cry. The more she thought about Rachel being in the hospital, the more upset she got. What if the accident had been worse? What if she had badly injured more than just her arm? What if Santana had lost her? Santana held Rachel tighter. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything," Rachel said. Her eyes were still closed. "Anything."

_How did she become so important to me? _Santana asked herself._ I never want to hurt her, again._ "Do you like pancakes?"

Rachel pulled back a little bit so she could look at Santana. "For dinner?"

"You never had pancakes for dinner?" When Rachel shook her head, Santana smiled. "Yeah. I'mma make you pancakes. You should change first, though, and I want to take care of your bruise."

"I don't have pajamas."

"Well, I do, so let's go upstairs."

They went up to Santana's room and Santana went to her desk. She rummaged around in a drawer and when she turned around she held a small tube in her hand. "I want you to put this on your bruise."

"Now?"

Santana nodded. "It'll help. Here," she tossed the ointment on the bed and went up to Rachel. "Turn around, I'll unzip you."

Rachel turned and closed her eyes. "Don't look."

"I promise I won't." Santana held the top of the back of the dress between her fingers and with her other hand she pulled the zipper down. It stopped at the small of Rachel's back, and when Santana moved her hands to slips the sleeves from Rachel's shoulders, Rachel stopped her.

"I- I think I can get it from here," she said. With her casted forearm she held the dress against her chest and then took the tube from the bed. As she was about to leave, Rachel asked, "Would you- would you wait by the door? I just- I might need help."

"Yeah," Santana got up and followed Rachel. She sat down against the wall while Rachel walked into the bathroom and left the door ajar.

In the bathroom, Rachel pulled the dress away from her body and let it fall to the floor. She was about to put the ointment on her bruise when she realized a flaw in her plan. The cast started from about two inches from the inside of her elbow, and it kept going all the way down her arm to where it stopped at her wrist, but to keep it in place, there was a bit wrapped around her thumb, and even more wrapped up to her knuckles, just to make sure the cast was secure. Just parts of her fingers were sticking out. She couldn't administer the ointment herself, even though she really did want to. "Santana?"

"Yeah?"

"I have come to the realization that I cannot administer the ointment as my cast is…" Rachel paused. _I have more than one hand,_ she thought. _There is no reason I should not be able to apply the ointment with my left hand simply because my right is obstructed by a cast._ Why had she thought she couldn't use her left hand? For whatever reason, Rachel blamed Santana. _She must just be zapping my brain of coherent thought…_

"Rach?"

"Never mind," Rachel said. She let the dress fall from her body, unscrewed the cap from the tube, squeezed some of the clear gel (with mild difficultly) onto the tips of her fingers, and gently rubbed them on the bruise, starting at the top of her right shoulder. The light touch stung her tender skin, and she hissed.

"Are you okay?"

Santana's voice was louder, closer, and Rachel reflexively covered her chest with her arm. "Yes, don't come in."

"I won't," Santana promised. "How is the bruise? Where is it?"

"It's where the seatbelt was. Across my chest, and across my lap." Rachel applied more ointment and silently cringed.

"I'll wait for you in my room."

Rachel nodded, "Okay," and she continued treating her sensitive injury. By the time she was done, there was a shiny gleam to her dark purple bruise, and it was damp from the ointment. She didn't want to get any of it on her dress, so she looked around the bathroom for a towel. Rachel found one in a drawer and tentatively wrapped it around herself, holding it closed behind her back. She walked out of the bathroom like that, holding the tube in her cast hand, and when she pushed open Santana's door, Santana was on the bed, wrapping several blue ice packs in dishtowels on her bed.

"Hi."

Santana looked up and her eyes immediately went to the dark mark marring Rachel's shoulder. "We should ice it."

Rachel nodded.

"I got a- and a pair of-" Santana moved to her closet and got Rachel a large, dark red teeshirt and a pair of black and grey plaid pajama pants. "Here," Santana walked up to Rachel with the clothes and dropped to a crouch in front of her. She held the pants at the elastic waist and held them open. Rachel dutifully stepped into them and only blushed a little bit when Santana pulled them up to sit lowly on Rachel's hips. "Turn around?"

Rachel took shallow breaths as she faced away from Santana. She felt the towel being gently tugged at, and she let it drop to the floor. Santana pulled the shirt over Rachel's head and patiently waited for Rachel to put her arms through the sleeves. "The shirt is sticking."

"That's okay. Um… I'm gonna have you lie down and put the ice packs on the bruise, is that cool?"

Rachel smiled slightly at the unintentional pun, but she nodded. She made her way to the door side of the bed, crawled on, and lay on her back. "How long do I need to stay with the ice packs?"

"Twenty minutes. Can I just…" Santana scooted forward on the bed on her knees and tentatively reached out to touch the hem of the shirt. When Rachel didn't tell her no, Santana slowly pulled the shirt up just past Rachel's naval so she could see the bruise from the lap belt. She swallowed with a deep frown pulling at her lips. "This will take time to heal."

"I can be patient."

That made Santana smile. "No, you can't."

Rachel had closed her eyes, and her voice was still playful, even if it had quieted. "Can, too."

"Fine," Santana covered Rachel's torso with the shirt and put two gel packs where the bruise was. "Rach, I need you to put these on the other part of it." _Above the belt and below the bra._

Rachel opened her eyes briefly to take three of the packs and to place them across her chest. "Twenty minutes?"

"Twenty minutes," Santana pressed some buttons on her phone and set it on her nightstand. "By the time this goes off dinner should be almost ready."

xxx

Downstairs, Santana got working on making a vegan pancake mix from a recipe she found using her phone. She was mixing everything into a bowl when Angel and Jason walked into the kitchen.

"You making enough for four?"

Santana cocked an eyebrow at her brother, and he corrected himself.

"…You making enough for two normal people and two ravenous, growing teenage boys?"

She smiled. "Yeah. C'mere and cut up some oranges. J, you mind setting the table?"

"Sure thing."

Santana got a ladle from a drawer and poured out two small dollops of batter onto the griddle and she put the bowl on the counter. She patiently waited and watched for a few minutes before flipping the coaster-sized pancakes when she saw bubbles start to rise on the batter surface. Jason walked back into the kitchen to see Santana using a spatula to put the two pancakes on a plate.

"Come eat these and tell me if they're poisonous."

Angel finished putting orange slices on a plate and walked up to wrap his right arm around his sister's waist. The pancakes on the white plate in front of them were golden brown and steaming. "They don't _look_ poisonous," he squeezed Santana's side and didn't have to look at her to know she had a soft smile on her face.

A pale, freckled, left arm slid over Angel's arm and around Santana's waist. "They don't _smell_ poisonous."

"Well use your enhanced sarcastic taste buds and tell me if they _taste_ poisonous."

As requested of them, both boys reached out with their free hands and they each took a flapjack and simultaneously put them into their mouths. They quietly chewed, and Santana smiled wide when Angel leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Super tasty."

Jason removed his arm from around Santana and hopped onto the counter next to the fridge. "Agreed. Why might they have been poisonous?"

Santana got the bowl of batter and began ladling out good-sized potions onto the griddle. "They're vegan."

"They're vegan?" Rachel stood in the kitchen doorway, her eyes half-lidded and her voice thick with sleep.

xxx

Santana explained to Rachel that she'd found a simple recipe online for the pancakes, and Rachel was glad for it. They all ate the flapjacks with maple syrup save for Santana, who used her blackberry jam. After they'd all eaten (Rachel and Santana each had three of the pancakes, and Angel and Jason ate fifteen between the both of them), Angel and Jason volunteered for kitchen cleanup, and Santana walked with Rachel upstairs after Rachel had taken one of her pain pills. She put Rachel in bed, went to the bathroom, and when she came back, Rachel had a small, dopey smile on her face.

"I feel good. Like… really real good."

Santana stood by the edge of the bed next to Rachel and looked at her with an amused smirk. "Those meds sure kicked in fast, huh?"

Rachel hummed from under Santana's covers. "S'tana. Snantana. San…tana…"

"Yeah, Rach?"

"I want her to be-" Rachel yawned, "be the one who takes my-" she spoke trough her yawn, "my virginity. But don't tell S'tana, 'cause this is a secret."

Santana sat down with a small, disbelieving smile on her face. "Okay. I won't tell."

"Because I've always wanted it to be with someone special, who cares about me just like I care about them, and Snan- Santana is that special someone."

Santana smiled and she felt happiness rising in her chest and spreading throughout her body. "Are you sure you want it to be her?"

"Yeahuh. 'Cause t'day… today she got scared for me, 'cause she cares about me. And I really like when she's not being a tough guy. Even though she was a big dummy on Fr'day… a real big dummy, she cares about me. And I think she's sexy."

Santana stifled a snort. "Get some sleep, Rachel."

"Waydaminute," Rachel's eyes were closed as she flung her arms out to stop who she was talking to. "Will you go find S'tana? I dun wanna sleep by myself."

Santana caught Rachel's hands in hers and gently placed them back on the bed. "Yeah. I'll be right back." Santana stood from the bed and quietly walked back downstairs, where Angel and Jason were putting things in the dishwasher. "My two favorite boys," she took two steps into the kitchen before Angel turned and walked the rest of the way to take his sister into a hug.

"Is she all right?" He easily rested his chin on the top of her head, and he held her small frame firmly.

Santana closed her eyes at the familiarity and comfort of her brother's embrace and designer smell, and she nodded. "She's completely out of it. I'm just here to say goodnight. So," she leaned back and smiled softly. "'Night."

Angel kissed her forehead. "'Night."

"'Night, Jason," Santana titled her head to the left to see the equally tall boy smiling at Angel's back.

"Goodnight."

Santana made her way back up to her room and smiled when she saw that Rachel had burrowed completely under the covers. She took off her boots, jeans, peasant top, and bra, and slipped on a loose-fitting, light grey teeshirt. "Rach?"

"Santana…?" Rachel's voice was muffled from being under the comforter, and Santana smiled.

She pulled back the covers and slid into bed, and Rachel immediately scooted closer. "Yeah, Rach."

"My head feels… fuzzy. Thank you for coming to see me, today."

"I thought you were just avoiding me when I didn't see you at school."

Rachel slowly shook her head. "As soon as I'd left your house on Saturday, I wanted to go back. But I- I wanted you to keep feeling bad for what you'd done."

"I didn't fall back asleep after you left," Santana admitted. "And I threw up. I almost threw up again today when Tina said you were at the hospital."

"Well I'm here now," Rachel whispered. "And you're here." Her eyes were already closed as she sighed against Santana under the covers. "And I forgive you, even though you're a jackass…"

Santana closed her own eyes as she listened to Rachel's breathing grow heavy, and she felt herself drifting or of consciousness as the events of the day slowly washed over her.

* * *

**A/N:** I've got some stuff planned out for a fourth chapter, and the keyword there is _some_. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it :) Leave a review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Pairing: **Rachel/Santana  
**Rating (for this chapter): **R**  
Word count (for this chapter):** ~9,700

* * *

Rachel woke up at six o' clock to Santana on top of her, with the cheerleader's torso between her legs and Santana's head resting below her chest. Santana was hugging Rachel loosely around the middle, and Rachel closed her eyes with a small smile. She reached up to her face to rub away a tickle on her brow with the back of her hand and she shouted when he accidentally hit herself with her cast.

"What…?" Santana groggily lifted her head up and then she woke up fully when she saw that the cut on Rachel's eyebrow had split and was bleeding. "Come to the bathroom, come on," Santana took Rachel's right hand and slid out of bed, pulling Rachel with her.

Santana sat Rachel down on the toilet seat lid. "I- I forgot I had the cast, and the cut…" Rachel closed her eyes for fear that the cut would bleed into them.

"Dumbass," Santana playfully chided. She smiled when Rachel reached out with her right hand and gently pushed the side of her face. "Hold still," Santana took a piece of gauze and held it to Rachel's cut, trying to stem the bleeding. "I'm gonna clean it now, it might sting." She took a new piece of gauze and wet it with antibacterial spray, and Rachel only complained with a short, quiet whine when Santana brought the damp cloth to her brow.

"Not the best way to wake up, I think. It was good before the pain, though."

"Yeah?" Santana gently dabbed at the cut, and seeing that the bleeding seemed to have stopped, she just dabbed at it a few more times with some dry gauze and then stood to throw everything away and wash her hands.

"You really are a very physically warm person," Rachel said. She squinted open her eyes and then opened them fully. "I quite enjoy waking up with you covering me."

"Just 'cause I'm warm?"

"Of course. Should there be another reason?" Rachel grinned cheekily.

"I could probably think of a few."

Rachel blushed and licked her lips. "Thank you for tending to my cut."

"You're welcome. We're going back to bed, now," Santana yawned. She hated six in the morning.

"But what about school?"

"Sleep for four more hours."

"And then we'll go to school?"

"Yeah. I'd say you've earned the right to show up a few hours late."

"And you?"

"Hey. I'm your ride," she yawned again and walked back into her bedroom. "If you're going to school late, then I have to, too."

Rachel just shook her head with a smile as she followed Santana into the room. She climbed into bed first, and then her smile widened as Santana took her previous position and promptly closed her eyes. "I hope you realize I'm sacrificing my workout routine for you."

"Mhm," Santana hummed. She snuggled down a little more, hugged Rachel's middle a little tighter, and fell asleep.

Rachel put her right hand on Santana's head and closed her eyes. She drifted in and out of a light slumber, and every time she woke up, she smiled at the feeling of Santana holding her.

xxx

Santana's alarm started blaring at ten, and Rachel silenced it quickly. Even though her fractured arm was uncomfortable and her cut stung every time she moved her brow, she felt very content. Santana turned her face into Rachel's stomach with a quiet whine, and Rachel ran her fingers through thick hair, occasionally finding small tangles. "I should get ready for school," Rachel said, keeping her voice quiet. "And as the person who will be driving me, I think you should get ready, too."

"Mm…" Santana groaned. She moved her head to the side and sat up quickly when Rachel made a sound of pain. "Oh, fuck, your bruises, I was laying right on top of them!" She scrambled to get out of bed and Rachel listened as Santana raced downstairs.

Rachel sat up and looked under the collar of her shirt, and her bruises looked just as awful as they had done the previous day. Santana came back into the room holding the ice packs she'd had Rachel use yesterday. Rachel wordlessly laid back down and let Santana place the packs on the bruise across her waist, and then took the rest of them to put them on the part of it across her chest.

"I'll take a shower, and then you can ditch the ice things and get ready."

Rachel nodded and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of Santana preparing for her shower. The closet door mostly stayed open, Rachel noted, and the drawers rumbled quietly as Santana opened them, getting clothing things she needed. Quiet footsteps padded across the floor, and a door was opened. It must have been Santana's walk-in, because the bedroom door had a very quiet creak in it when it was opened. That creak reached Rachel's ears, and then it sounded again when the bedroom door was shut. Soon, the shower was turned on, and Rachel felt her cheeks get warm when she thought about Santana showering.

xxx

After Santana was out of the shower and in her cheerios uniform, Rachel got ready in the bathroom. Santana lent her a dark blue halter-top and some loose-fitting jeans, and Rachel put them on without much of a problem.

xxx

At school, Rachel went through her day like she normally would. A few people held doors for her, but people who weren't in glee mostly ignored her. During lunch, Kurt hijacked her left arm and used several blue, green, and black permanent pens to draw an argyle pattern on the whole of Rachel's cast. At the end of the day, Puck offered her a ride home, and she accepted.

When she walked through her front door, both her parents were sitting together on the couch, watching some show on nature's most skilled predators, and sat with them for a while before she went to her bedroom and completed a few homework assignments. At around nine-thirty, she changed into pajamas and relaxed on her bed, and she smiled wide when her phone buzzed with a new text.

_S. Lopez: r ur dads ok?_

_R. Berry: Yes, they're fine. They're downstairs watching a nature show marathon. _

_S. Lopez: is ur arm ok?_

_R. Berry: It's throbbing a little bit._

_S. Lopez: ur cut?_

_R. Berry: Better than this morning. _

_S. Lopez: take ur meds._

_R. Berry: I haven't had dinner yet._

_S. Lopez: its after 9._

_R. Berry: I know._

_S. Lopez: go eat._

_R. Berry: Bossy._

_S. Lopez: u like it. _

Rachel smiled.

_R. Berry: I'll have some food and then I'll be back. _

Rachel left her phone on her bed and went downstairs. She ate a plate of raw baby carrots, cut celery stalks, broccoli, and sugar snap peas, accompanied by some homemade vegan ranch dressing that she had made herself. By the time she went back upstairs, took her one pain pill, and got her phone from the bed, she had several messages.

_S. Lopez: hve a bakd potato w/ chives and facon bits and not-btter. _

_S. Lopez: or a sprng roll w/ spruts and spnch and carrts and peanut sauce._

_S. Lopez: or eat like a hole thng of breadsticks._

_S. Lopez: fuck. now im hngry._

Rachel smiled with a furrowed brow. Santana's grammar was just a little too atrocious.

_R. Berry: Might you please attempt to text me with proper spelling and grammar?_

_S. Lopez: wat u like ppl w/ grmmr sklls?_

_R. Berry: It's a trait I find attractive, yes. _

_S. Lopez: Good grammar and correct spelling it is, then. Better?_

_R. Berry: Much. Thank you._

_S. Lopez: You take your pill?_

_R. Berry: Yes. _

_S. Lopez: Good. _

Santana rolled onto her stomach and held her phone out in front of her on the bed. If she'd gotten her way, Rachel would be with her right now, and she'd be able to take care of the injured girl herself.

_Me: You ice your bruise when you got home?_

_TROLL: Yes, 20 minutes every hour for four hours in a row._

_Me: I know it'll hurt but also gently massaging the bruised area is supposed to help make_ _it go away. _

_TROLL: Its too tender. _

Santana frowned. Rachel made a typo and didn't correct it.

_Me: Maybe try again in a few days._

_TROLL: Okay_

Santana's frown deepened and she squinted at her screen. Rachel Berry never sent a text without proper punctuation. Forgetting an apostrophe, and then neglecting to leave a period where one was supposed to be? Those were punishable offenses in Rachel's eyes, why would she write two texts in a row with improper grammar, especially after asking Santana to stop with the text-speak?

_TROLL: I like you_

A butterfly seemed to be suddenly and pleasantly fluttering around Santana's stomach, and realization hit her. _Oh._

_TROLL: lots. _

Rachel's pain meds were taking effect.

_TROLL: even thoygh you were mean to me_

_TROLL: evrn though i used to be afraid of you_

Santana frowned at that one.

_TROLL: anf evrn thiogh youre stupid ans cheatrd_

_TROLL: i still grt wet from thw way yoi look at me anf tpuch me and kisd ms_

Santana took a deep breath and expelled it through her mouth. Rachel was a little loca at the moment, and she would probably look at her phone in the morning and be mortified at what she'd written, but Santana just couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips when she read over the poorly written last text.

_Me: Even though I used to think you were annoying_

_Me: Even though I used to be mean to you so you'd be afraid of me_

_Me: The time I've spent with you has made me happier than I've ever been. _

Santana stared at her phone for several minutes before she got a response.

_TROLL: do i mske you wet_

Santana closed her eyes with a smile. Rachel would be absolutely _mortified_ when she read these, later.

_Me: You're not thinking clearly, Rach._

_TROLL: do i make yoi wrt_

_Me: Your meds are making you loopy._

_TROLL: do i_

Santana expelled another tense breath. Even though she was nearly incoherent, Rachel was still stubborn as hell.

_Me: Yes. _

_TROLL: i herd yoi mdstvating teh othwr day_

Santana's brow furrowed. She couldn't decipher what Rachel was trying to say.

_Me: You heard me what?_

_TROLL: we wwre kisding ans yoi saud for me ti go doqnstaurs and thst you woild showrr anf i hesrd you mastwrbsting_

Santana felt her face get warm and her eyes widened. Apparently she didn't pay close enough attention when Rachel left, and her door must not have been fully closed.

_Me: I'm sorry._

_TROLL: it was hot_

Santana smiled.

_Me: You should get some sleep, Rach. And try not to hate yourself too much in the morning. _

Santana didn't get another text for almost fifteen more minutes, and by that time she was just about asleep, herself.

_TROLL: will yoi picl me up tomirrpw fpr schiol ?_

_Me: Yeah. I'll be at yours at 7:20. Night, Rach. _

_TROLL: u kicw tiy_

Santana again could not decipher Rachel's words, but her eyelids were heavy, and she succumbed to sleep quickly after reading that last jumbled text.

xxx

Rachel's heart felt like it was in her throat as she sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at her phone like it might literally explode at any second. She didn't recall sending most of the texts that she did after having dinner, but the evidence was right there in her conversation history.

She was mortified.

The things she had said! And now there was no way she could avoid Santana because she would be at Rachel's house in just under an hour. She flopped back onto her pillow with a distressed sigh and covered her eyes with the heels of her palms, bumping the top of her left cheek with part of the cast, being careful to leave her cut undisturbed. She hoped to god that Santana didn't figure out what she had meant to say in that last text. Rachel had figured out what her clumsy, medicated brain had intended to type out, and she prayed Santana thought it was just incoherent finger smashing. Rachel knew that it wasn't. _I need to get ready…_ Rachel whined and pouted at herself. Tonight, before she took her medication, she would have to turn her phone off and give the device to her parents lest she make a fool of herself, again. Rachel jumped at the knock on her door, and her right hand flew to her chest. She sighed at how tense she was and said, "Come in."

"Rachel, honey?" Hiram opened the door a bit and peaked inside to see Rachel get out of bed and fix the covers a little awkwardly with one hand. "Need me to help you get a plastic bag on your arm?"

She shook her head. "No, thanks. I think I'll be okay today, but same time tomorrow morning?" She would just wash her face this morning, a shower could wait until the next day, or maybe she'd just take one that evening.

"Sure thing. Dad's making toast, and we just got some fresh avocados from the store on the way home last night, so come down quick before we eat all of them."

Rachel smiled at her daddy in his rainbow-polka dotted pajama pants. "I will. Are there any peppers?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Will you please cut one up for me?"

"Already done, hon."

"I'll get ready after breakfast, then," Rachel said, and she swung her legs over the side of her bed, hopped down, and followed her daddy downstairs. The familiar aroma of oat nut toast filled her senses.

"How ya feeling, Ray?" Leroy was in the middle of spooning out avocado onto a plate, wearing a floral apron over his pajamas.

"A little achy, but nothing that can't be fixed by time," she stood on tiptoes and he leaned down to let her kiss his cheek. She snagged a slice of avocado and went to sit down at the counter. "Time and tasty food."

Hiram brought a small plate filled with two cut up red and orange bell peppers to the counter and sat down next to Rachel. "Dear," he said, and Leroy hummed in acknowledgement. "You're supposed to wear your 'Kiss the Cook' apron when I'm home, so I can do my duty as your doting husband."

Rachel snorted.

"Well, _dear_, we all know you're going to kiss me anyway, so what does it matter which apron I'm wearing?"

Hiram just smiled and walked over to get his kiss and Rachel was reaching for a slice of pepper when the doorbell rang. Rachel's body tensed. _She's early. She's really early._ "It's Santana."

"At six-thirty?"

"She offered to give me a ride to school this morning. She's just-" Rachel huffed out some nervousness and got off of her stool. "She's early." Rachel went to the door, opened it, and there was Santana, standing on her porch in red and black and white, hair in a ponytail and looking as gorgeous as ever. "You're early."

"And you're in your underwear," Santana smirked as she looked at Rachel's legs, but her attention was brought back to stern brown eyes when Rachel sharply cleared her throat.

"You get to wait downstairs with my parents." Rachel felt very tense. Had Santana understood her last garbled text?

Santana's eyes widened in fear when Rachel turned and walked swiftly to the stairs. It was a chilly morning, and not wanting to let more cold air in, Santana stepped into the house and shut the door.

"Good morning."

Leroy's scariness was somewhat dampened by the flower-print apron he was wearing, and the soft smile on his face made Santana decide she would walk farther into the house instead of standing in the walkway.

"Hi," she said, and she stood awkwardly about two feet from the counter.

"Thank you for taking Rachel home with you from the hospital," Hiram's voice was gracious, and his smile just as warm as Leroy's.

"It was the least I could do," Santana said, and she knew that both men knew she was referring to her colored past with Rachel.

"Have you eaten?" Rachel had slipped on some fuzzy blue PJ pants and a Wicked hoodie, and she took her spot back on her stool at the end of the counter.

Santana shook her head and moved to stand closer to Rachel. "I don't usually eat breakfast on schooldays."

Rachel thought back to Monday morning, and she realized that Santana had only had that one cup of coffee. "Well, you're eating a piece of my dad's avocado toast." Rachel pulled a stool around to the edge of the counter and stared at Santana until she sat down.

"I don't know what avocado toast is."

Leroy took another plate from a cabinet and brought four of the dishes to the counter. He set Santana's down first and then went back to the other side of the kitchen to get the plate stacked tall with toast and the one holding spooned-out avocado. "Do you like to take your toast with butter?"

Santana nodded at Leroy and thanked him for the plate.

"Well," Rachel took a piece of toast and her knife, sliced off a bit of avocado, spread it onto the toast, and put the piece onto Santana's plate. "That's avocado toast." Rachel promptly made another and began to eat her breakfast. "Eat."

Santana smiled at subtly as she could, and if she blushed easily, she would have at the reaction she was having between her legs to Rachel telling her what to do. _All she did was tell me to eat this food,_ Santana thought. And the warm, pleasantly twisty feeling in her lower stomach was making it hard to not smile wider. The toast was good, and Santana finished it quickly. "Um…" She started, and her words died when three pairs of eyes fixed on her.

"What?" Rachel asked. She was spreading more avocado on a second piece of toast.

Quieter than she would normally speak to Rachel, she said, "You mind if I use your bathroom?"

Rachel shook her head. "Go right ahead, I'll meet you upstairs."

Rachel was being very… unreadable, Santana noticed, and she didn't really know what to make of it. "Okay. Thanks for breakfast," she said to Leroy and Hiram, and she stepped around the counter and headed upstairs.

In Rachel's bathroom, Santana was standing with her back against the door and her eyes shut. No, she didn't blush, but she did feel embarrassment for getting turned on by getting told to do something. Was it that, or was it just that it was Rachel who was the one who said it? Santana bit her lip through a smile, and then inhaled sharply when Rachel knocked on the door. Santana took a breath, opened the door, and quickly slid her arms around Rachel's waist and back to pull her into a kiss.

"Do you seriously," Santana stepped forward and kept her mouth on Rachel's, "have to ask," she kissed the corner of Rachel's mouth, "if you," she sucked on her lower lip, "make," kiss, "me," kiss, "wet?" Rachel's knees hit the mattress and she had to sit, and Santana remained standing as her hands slid up from their places on Rachel's body to rest on her right cheek and the left side of her jaw. "Because you really do."

Rachel was doing a bad job at trying to look like she wasn't a frazzled mess. She closed her eyes, cutting off her view of Sex on a Stick Santana, and her own hand moved up to cover the one gently cupping her face. She took a few deep breaths before she opened her eyes, looked at Santana, and whispered, "You're early."

Santana grinned wide and leaned down to give Rachel another kiss. "I'm sorry."

There were a very many things that Rachel wanted to say, and do, but right now it was six-forty, and she needed to get ready for her day. "I want to wear the blue plaid dress."

Santana internally sighed. She really liked it when she got Rachel flustered. She could push a little more, but there would be plenty of other times to get Rachel well and bothered. Santana held her hand out and Rachel took it, and together they walked to Rachel's closet. Santana found the dress easily and picked it up off the hanger. "Do you want me to help?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes, please. Just with the zipper." Rachel took the dress over her right arm and went to her dresser, where she got her bra and panties. "I'll be right back." She went to her bathroom, and Santana walked and sat down on the bed.

Rachel came back out in a few minutes with her hand on her chest, keeping the dress and bra from slipping from her shoulders. She walked up to Santana on the bed, turned around, and waited as warm fingers hooked the bra clasp together, and then the dress zipper was next. Santana was taking her time, and Rachel's breath caught when a soft kiss was pressed between her shoulder blades. The zipper was pulled the rest of the way up, and Santana put her hands on Rachel's hips to turn her around. "You're so quiet, this morning."

In truth, Rachel was just scared that Santana had deciphered the text. She was focused on it, and her mind wasn't allowing her to really think on anything else. "I'm just…" Santana's thumbs rubbed little circles on her hipbones, and Rachel's eyes closed. "I'm embarrassed."

"Don't be."

Rachel moved and sat next to Santana. She _was_, though. She felt so embarrassed at the things she had written. Her mouth pulled into a pout, and Santana noticed.

"Rach?"

Rachel snapped, and the words she had been holding in tumbled out. "I'm so sorry for last night, I barely remember anything after I got into bed, and I feel so foolish about how I behaved, and-" Rachel was silenced by a kiss that calmed her down in an instant. Santana's warm hand slid around to cup the back of her neck, and Rachel breathed out against full lips.

"Don't apologize for the things you said," Santana dipped her head and kissed her way from Rachel's jaw to her neck. Santana was remembering what Rachel had said to her. _"I want her to be the one who takes my virginity."_ "Please don't apologize for them."

"Wha…" Rachel closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing as Santana gently kissed and licked at her neck. She was being so… there really wasn't another word for it. _Loving._ Santana was being so loving, and Rachel found her embarrassment from earlier in the morning melting away. "I feel so silly."

Santana kissed her way back up to Rachel's lips, and she smiled at the feeling of fingers gripping the fabric of her cheerios top. "You're fucking adorable," Santana said, and she kissed Rachel again. "You're allowed to feel embarrassed, but I like that you wonder about things like if you turn me on. I especially like that you wanted to ask me, but you didn't until you were hopped up on pain meds." She kissed Rachel's right cheek and gently rubbed at the spot where her lips had been. "Don't be afraid to ask me anything."

"Did-" Rachel took a breath and expelled it through her nose. "Did you understand the last text I sent?"

Santana looked at Rachel's curious eyes with a soft smile. She leaned in slowly and kissed Rachel, pressing their lips together for just a second before she pulled away. Her smile was still there when she said, "No. Do you even know what you said?"

A weight seemed to be lifted from Rachel's chest. It wouldn't have been too difficult for Santana to figure it out if she really looked. If she had done what Rachel had done and typed the letters on the keyboard one letter to the right of the ones written in the last text, the message was deciphered. Rachel felt as if her feelings for Santana were in a large box wrapped in gift paper, and every day more and more of that paper was torn away. Somehow, she had snuck a peak inside the box before it was wrapped, and she knew what was inside, but she didn't want to tell Santana until all of the paper was gone.

"No," Rachel lied. "I didn't understand it, either."

"Okay," Santana tucked some hair behind Rachel's ear. "Shoes?"

"I have some simple black flats downstairs."

"Okay. Don't be embarrassed."

Rachel nodded. She felt much better now that she knew Santana had just disregarded her last text. If Rachel eventually did tell Santana she loved her, Rachel would want to say it to her in person. She silently left her room, and Santana followed. Downstairs, Rachel got her flats, got her book bag from where she'd left it on the dining room table, and then she and Santana said goodbye to her parents as they walked out the front door.

In the car, Rachel had barely gotten her seatbelt on before Santana's lips were on her neck. "We- we're still in my driveway."

"Mhm," Santana hummed, and she slid her hand over Rachel's stomach, where she knew she was allowed to touch.

"My parents… Aren't you worried they'll see?" Rachel was breathing heavily with her eyes closed, and she sighed through her nose against Santana's cheek when the brunette kissed her lips.

Santana pulled back and looked to the house, and, sure enough, she saw curtains being quickly pulled closed to the left of the front door. "Too late," she whispered, and she stole another kiss before Rachel's fathers had the chance to spy on them again.

"I- I- I haven't told them that you and I are- are- involved with each other," Rachel stuttered, and her eyes fluttered closed when Santana gently scratched at her neck with short nails.

"I think they might know, now," Santana said, and she found that Rachel's parents knowing about her and Rachel didn't bother her at all. She leaned back in and her gaze kept dipping from Rachel's eyes to her lips, and she smiled when Rachel kissed her.

"Let's get to school," Rachel said before she kissed Santana's bottom lip.

"Yes, ma'am." Despite wanting to just stay locked to Rachel's lips for the rest of the day, Santana leaned back to the driver's seat and turned the car on. She pulled out of the driveway, and once she was in gear, she reached back over to the passenger side, took Rachel's left, casted hand, and began playing with her exposed fingers as she drove.

The ride was quiet, and Rachel spent it softly smiling as she watched things out the window while Santana fiddled with the tips of her fingers. She had been worried about the texts, and Santana's reaction. She didn't know what she had been expecting, or how it could have even been bad. Still, though, Rachel made a mental note to try and be more careful with her phone later on that night.

xxx

Santana and Rachel went their separate ways when they left the car, and they didn't make contact again until lunch. Rachel sat at the table with the glee kids near the end of the bench, across from Puck and Quinn and next to Tina. She was in the middle of her cucumber sandwich when she felt someone slide next to her at the very end of the bench. She paused mid bite when a warm, bare knee moved against her own.

"So, Q," Santana said. She moved her leg slowly up and down, gently rubbing her knee against Rachel's. "You gonna wise up and get back on the Cheerios?"

Rachel smiled softly, and she felt her face getting warm. She ate the rest of her sandwich in silence, and for the rest of the lunch period, she listened to the people around the table talk while she and Santana rubbed knees with each other under the table.

xxx

When Santana walked into glee, Rachel found it hard to keep from smiling when Santana sat down right next to her. Again, like lunch, Santana didn't say anything to her. This time, she sat on Rachel's right, in between her and Sugar, and she knew Rachel was happily distracted. So distracted, in fact, that she didn't even react when Mr. Schuester said,

"Today, I want all the girls to sing something. Anything at all. Tomorrow, the guys will do the same. We haven't been letting loose, enough. Who's first?"

"I am all over this," Mercedes immediately stood up and walked to the band. She whispered something to them, and as soon as the music started playing, everyone smiled as she started singing Pretty Girl Rock. She owned the song, and Quinn quickly stood up before any of the other girls could volunteer next.

"That was great, Mercedes, thank you! It looks like Quinn wants to go next?"

"Yeah. Puck, Finn, help me out."

The boys shrugged and walked down, and most everyone in the room sat back with shocked, open mouths when Quinn did a rendition of _I Love Rock and Roll_, with Puck on guitar and Finn on drums. When Quinn finished, she got a standing ovation.

"Nicely done, Q," Santana walked forward with her hand held out, waiting for Quinn to shake it. Santana got a hug instead. "Geez… go sit down before I get the urge to slap your crazy ass."

"I thought you said my ass was sweet?" Quinn quipped.

"Ha ha. 'Cedes, Tina, would you ladies be so kind?" Santana smirked as she quietly told the band her song. She stood in front of everyone with Tina at her left and Mercedes at her right, and she could have sworn Rachel's eyes were glazed over watching her before the music even started.

By the time Mr. Schue figured out what she was singing, Santana was already too into Rihana's S&M for him to tell her to stop the performance. Santana slightly bounced to the beat on the balls of her heels, keeping her hands up in front of her torso as she sang.

Rachel tried not to squirm in her seat, hoping desperately that no one could hear how loud her heart was beating as she listened to the lyrics coming from Santana's mouth. Santana's voice sounded downright erotic, and Rachel was having trouble keeping still. Never before had she wanted to rip anyone's clothes off, but she found herself fighting the urge to leap up and drag Santana away so they could up their make out sessions to a new level. Possibly a level with minimal covering.

The song ended and Santana flashed one of her sultrier looks at Rachel, and her plan to work up Rachel backfired a bit when the look she got in return was enough to make mouth water. Before she could even move to take her seat back, Rachel stood up.

"Excuse me, everyone," Rachel said, and she quickly breezed out of the room before anyone could stop her. Her plaid dress felt stifling, and she walked as fast as she could to the nearest bathroom. The pocket on her hip buzzed, and she closed herself in a stall before looking at her phone.

_S. Lopez: What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?_

Rachel smiled at the concern.

_R. Berry: You happened._

Rachel hit send and stood with her back against the stall door.

_R. Berry: I'm fine. I'm in the bathroom._

_S. Lopez: I like you flustered. _

_S. Lopez: Finn wanted to go after you. Quinn just left to find you, instead. _

Right on cue, the bathroom door opened. "Berry?"

_R. Berry: She's here. _

Rachel held her phone and opened the stall door. "Hello, Quinn."

"You don't usually leave glee until everyone else has left before you."

"Yes, well," Rachel walked to the sink and turned the faucet on. She ran her right hand under the cold water as she said, "I don't usually have a pounding headache because of a recent car accident-induced injury."

Quinn was quiet for a few moments. "You need a ride home?"

"Thank you, but Santana's my ride, today." Rachel said the words without thinking, and he immediately regretted it. Quinn's posture changed from leaning nonchalantly against the bathroom counter to standing straight and facing Rachel with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Why?"

"Wh- why what?"

"Why is Santana your ride home?"

The bathroom door opened and Santana walked in. "Because Mrs. Jamison is making me get tutored, and apparently Berry's the best history student she's got."

Quinn squinted her eyes slightly and a slight frown pulled at her mouth. "How long has this been going on?"

"Just a few weeks," Rachel said, glad that Santana had walked in when she did. World History was a class she and Santana shared that Quinn didn't, so for all the blonde knew, their story could be true. Santana already got top grades in that class, but Quinn didn't need to know that.

"You missed Tina singing the Pokémon theme song. Mike about jizzed his pants."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She checked her watch. "Glee's over. I'll see you both tomorrow, then. Have fun studying." Quinn left, and Rachel slumped back against the counter.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel closed her eyes with a pout. She had no idea what Quinn had gleaned from that conversation, and she was scared she had accidentally let Quinn know that she and Santana were together.

"Hey," Santana quickly walked up to Rachel and tilted her chin up. "I guess it's my fault you ran off here in the first place?"

Rachel looked at Santana and nodded her head as se recalled the performance that made her flee.

Santana smiled sheepishly and cockily at the same time. "Sorry. And don't worry about Quinn."

"But-"

"Rach, in 9th grade, she knew I liked Brittany before I did," she rubbed her thumb gently across Rachel's cheek. "She's never used that against me, and I don't think she'll do anything now, if she even figured it out."

"Okay."

"Okay. I've got an hour of Cheerios before we can leave."

"I'll wait for you in the auditorium."

xxx

Rachel sat at the edge of the stage, waiting for Santana to finish Cheerios practice. Her thoughts swirled around Santana's tantalizing performance. Did the things in that song really excite Santana? She jumped when she heard a door slam backstage. "Hello?" She brought her knees onto the stage and turned her body upstage, curling her right hand into a nervous fist. She released a relieved sigh when she saw it was just Finn.

He walked over to her from stage right and sat down next to her, with about a foot of distance between them. "I thought I'd find you here." She didn't say anything, and he looked at his hands on his knees. "I'm glad you're okay, Rach."

Rachel sighed. "Thank you, Finn." The silence surrounding them was thick, and it lasted a few seconds before Finn spoke again.

"I miss you, you know."

Rachel frowned, and she said quietly, "You know why I'm mad at you, right?"

"Cause of what I said to Santana?"

"Yes, but do you know _why_ it upset me so much?"

Finn shrugged. "Cause it was mean?"

"Because if someone else had heard you, the situation could have become much, much worse. She comes from a Catholic family, Finn. If a serious rumor was spread about Santana possibly being gay, her family might ostracize her."

"What does that word m-"

"Her father might kick her out." Finn was silent to this. "Did you know that my daddy was beaten up by a group of his classmates in high school?"

Finn frowned. "No."

"Someone outed him, and then he had to go to the hospital." Rachel stood up and brushed her skirt off with her right hand. "Please be aware of what you say, Finn."

"I should apologize to her."

Rachel stopped on her way upstage. "No, you shouldn't."

"But-"

"She'll only hit you if you do, Finn."

"Rach, I miss you," he scrambled up, remembering why he's sought Rachel out in the first place.

"I'm sorry, Finn, but I don't miss you back."

Rachel exited stage left and gasped when she bumped straight into Santana. "Hi," she whispered, and she took Rachel's cool hand in hers and pulled her down the hall.

"Did you hear all of that?" Rachel's stomach was nervously fluttering with the way Santana's warm hand gently gripped hers as they turned towards the back exit.

Santana opened the door, pulled Rachel with her through the back lot, out to the front of the school, and only let go of her hand when she saw other students. Rachel smiled softly at Santana's behavior, and continued walking with her until they got to the car. Rachel opened the passenger door and slid onto the seat as she placed her book bag on the floor. Santana got into the front seat and quickly started the car before she had even shut the driver door. "Do you need to go home for anything? Your meds?"

Rachel shook her head. "I've got those with me."

"Okay. Want to spend tonight at my house?"

"It's a school night."

Santana backed out of the space and pulled up to the parking lot exit. "Please?"

Rachel smiled out of the corner of her mouth and pulled her phone out of her bag. She called a number on her favorites and held the phone to her ear as Santana pulled onto the road and got up to speed.

_"What's up, munchkin?" _

"Hey, dad. Is it okay if I spend tonight at Santana's house? I've got all the books I need to finish homework."

_"Uh, Ray," Leroy started. "You know your daddy saw the two of you in her car, this morning."_

"Yes."

_"I don't know how I feel about you spending the night with her now that I know what I do, sweetheart." _

Santana reached over with her right hand and began to fiddle with the fingers sticking out of Rachel's cast the way she had that morning.

"Nothing's happened, dad."

_"Nothing?" He asked, disbelief evident in his tone._

"She's a lot more honorable than you think."

At this, Santana looked at Rachel before quickly focusing back on the road.

_"Honestly, honey, she's not the one I'm concerned about." _

"Dad!"

_"I'm just saying, Munchkin. When you want something there's not a lot anyone can do to keep you from it." _

Rachel released a tense sigh, and closed her eyes to calm herself. Santana was gently rubbing at her fingers with a warm thumb, and she smiled. "I really care about her, dad. And she's fully aware that I need to take things slow."

There was a large sigh on Leroy's end, and a few seconds of silence. _"Give her the phone."_

"But-"

_"Rachel Barba Berry, give Santana the phone." _

Rachel reached over to her left hand and bumped Santana's fingers with the device. Santana hesitated for a second before she let go of Rachel's fingers and took the phone. "Hello?"

_"I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer me truthfully."_

"Yes, sir."

_"Have you had sex with my daughter?" _

Santana saw a gas station coming up on her right and she quickly pulled into it and pulled into a parking spot. "No."

_"Have you pressured her to do anything she didn't want to?" _

Santana thought about when she'd taken the liberty of putting Rachel's hands on her chest, but Rachel had only said no because she thought it wasn't fair to Santana. "No."

_"Have you hurt her emotionally since the time I offered you breakfast?"_

Santana frowned. "Yes."

_"How so?"_

A lump formed in Santana's throat, and tried to swallow it down. Her voice was thick when she said, "I slept with someone else."

Leroy was quiet for a moment. _"I see."_

"I didn't do it to hurt her."

_"Why did you do it?"_

"Stupidity."

_"But she's forgiven you."_

"Yes."

_"And you're grateful?"_

"Yes, sir."

More silence. _"Make sure she eats before she takes her pain pill, tonight."_

"Yes, sir."

_"Hand the phone back to Rachel." _

Santana clenched her jaw at herself, frustrated that she was getting so upset. Her eyebrows turned down in anger, and she looked out her window, away from Rachel, afraid of the brunette's eyes on her.

Rachel took the phone and then awkwardly unbuckled before opening the passenger door. "Excuse me," she said to Santana, who was still looking away, and Rachel closed the door and put the phone to her ear. "Whatever you said to her was wholly unnecessary."

_"I just want to know what her intentions are."_

"Dad, her intentions are she's terrified of her own feelings. Her intentions are she cheated on me because she was scared, and so she did something stupid. Her intentions are she heard I was in the hospital, left glee to come see me, and then couldn't stop crying when she was holding me on the hospital bed."

_"Ray…"_

"No. She's trying not to cry right now in the car. I'm not ready to take that step with anyone, and she knows that."

_"I don't want you getting hurt."_

"If I do, then it will be my choice." Rachel listened as her dad sighed through his nose, and she knew he was probably rubbing the back of his neck. He always did that when he knew he was on the losing side of an argument. Rachel closed her eyes as she leaned back against the car, and she sighed. "She's scared enough of you to begin with, dad. You really don't need to use your intimidation skills to frighten her any more."

_"Be safe. I'll talk to the both of you in person tomorrow after school." _

"Okay, dad."

_"Be _safe_."_

The line went silent, and Rachel steeled herself for what might happen when she opened the car door. She got back into her seat, and saw Santana hastily wiping at her face. Santana sniffed and immediately started the car without waiting for Rachel to say anything. "Wait until we're at my house."

"Okay."

Santana pulled out of the gas station and clenched her jaw for the rest of the drive. Rachel let her left arm rest on the seat, as much as it could, hoping Santana might fiddle with her fingers again. She didn't. Rachel's stomach knotted in fear, and her eyebrows turned up as she worried her bottom lip. She looked out her window as the car moved past the supermarket, a few restaurants, and a gas station. She became aware of how heavily her heart seemed to be beating when they turned into Lima Heights, and Rachel's mouth pulled into a scared pout when Santana stopped in her driveway.

"Your dad's fucking scary," Santana whispered.

"What- what did he ask you?"

"If we'd fucked, yet."

Rachel frowned. "He doesn't trust you."

"I guess the two of you can get teeshirts, then."

The knot Rachel was feeling swirled up from her stomach to her throat, and she knew she would start crying if she didn't fight it. She took a few breaths before she asked, "Were you serious when you said that this is the happiest you've ever been?"

Santana looked at Rachel looking at her. The face that used to make her cringe was, even after that jarring phone conversation, making her want to smile. "Yeah, I was serious."

"Did you hear what I said to Finn?"

"Yeah."

"How much?"

"You don't miss him at all?"

"Not at all." A thought occurred to her, and Rachel shared it before she could stop herself. "I'd miss you."

"What do you mean?"

"If this stopped. If things went back to the way they were. I'd miss you."

Rachel's tone sounded sad. It sounded like when Brittany said she was in love with Artie. "Why does it feel like we're breaking up?"

"I don't know."

"Are we?"

"I don't know."

Santana's face twisted down and she quickly unbuckled and got out of the car. She heard Rachel behind her as she walked into her house and went up the stairs to he room. She stepped up to her bed and then swiveled around. "Do you want to break up?" Santana couldn't figure out what was happening. Why did it feel like her heart was about to be ripped out? Hadn't Rachel just said that she would miss Santana if they stopped being together?

Rachel's tears finally rolled down her cheeks, starting with her left eye, and then her right. "God, no."

"Then why are you telling me you'd miss me if this stopped?"

"I thought… I thought what my dad said to you might have put you off me."

"Jesus…" Santana walked up to Rachel and wrapped her arms around the crying woman. "If anything were going to put me off you, don't you think you would be the one to do it?"

Rachel sniffed with her chin on Santana's shoulder. "Would you miss me?"

Santana smiled with closed eyes, and wondered if she'd get smacked if she started calling Rachel Narcissa. "I'm not even going to wonder about that."

"Why?"

"Because no one's put me off you," Santana squeezed Rachel around the shoulders. "I'm still very much on the Rachel Berry train."

"And what happens when you see your stop?"

"Who says my ticket isn't for end of line?"

Rachel leaned back and then walked Santana backwards until they both fell onto the bed. "Enough with metaphors," she said. She straddled Santana's hips and moved down to kiss her. "I'm sorry I made you think we were breaking up." Her right hand slid up to rest on Santana's ribcage, and she braced her weight on her casted forearm.

"Rach, let me be on top," Santana kept her hands on Rachel's waist, and her lips chased Rachel's when the brunette leaned up.

"But I like it up here," Rachel leaned back down and her lips turned up when Santana met her kiss hungrily yet unhurriedly.

"I don't want you straining your arm," she squeezed Rachel's waist as she gently sucked on a delicious bottom lip.

Rachel allowed their positions to be flipped and she giggled when Santana kissed her neck. She sighed in contentment when soft lips pressed gently against her jaw, her cheek, her chin, and then her lips. She kissed back and when Santana broke the kiss, Rachel's eyes stayed closed. Her limbs and body felt heavy, and Santana covering her felt really good. "I'm sleepy." When Santana just settled down on top of her and put her head on Rachel's left shoulder, Rachel quickly fell asleep.

Santana lay there, loving the feel of Rachel beneath her, the smell of her hair, how the quiet of her sleeping was so different to the talkative way she carried herself while awake. She closed her eyes against the feeling of happiness she felt in her chest. Happiness, and something else. Something else that was so strong, and Santana couldn't fathom how she was feeling it this strong. Santana had felt it for Brittany, but that was nothing compared to this. A single caribou compared to a full-blown stampede. She pushed the feeling back until it was covered by tiredness, and then she too fell asleep.

xxx

Angel got home at five after his football practice and he went straight upstairs to say hi to his sister. Her car in the driveway meant that she was either in the kitchen or in her room, and since he didn't hear any movement downstairs, he figured she was probably studying, or something. He opened her door and was about to leap onto her bed when he saw Santana and Rachel curled up with each other on top of he covers. Santana was on her left side, hugging Rachel around the shoulders with her right leg over Rachel's thighs. Rachel's casted arm was up on the pillow and her right hand was holding on to one of Santana's arms. Neither of them stirred when Angel walked across the room to the closet, got a soft blanket from the top shelf, and laid it over the both of them.

He left and went to his own room, where he pulled out his homework and laptop and skyped with Jason.

xxx

When Santana woke up at five-thirty, she smiled when she saw that a red blanket had been placed over her and Rachel. _Angel. _She carefully disentangled herself from Rachel, placed a soft kiss to her forehead, and walked out of her room. Angel's door was open and Santana didn't hesitate to just walk in.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Angel was at his desk, a book in his hands.

"What are you reading?" She got on his bed and lay on her stomach so her head was at the foot of the bed and she was facing Angel.

"This comic book about a woman growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. I've got to write an essay about it, make the topic my choice."

"You'll kill it."

Angel put the book down and smirked at his sister. She squinted her eyes at him, and when he stood, she got off of the bed and braced herself for what was coming. Angel lunged, she grabbed him by the shoulders, he kicked her feet from under her, and then next thing she knew, she was on her stomach on the floor and he was sitting on her back. "Puta! You outweigh me by like seventy pounds!" She struggled in vain for a few seconds before he slid off of her and onto the floor, chuckling when she smacked his shoulder.

"Only cause I'm bigger," he flexed his bicep and whined when she pinched his arm. "Violence!"

She sat back against his bed and sighed, looking out his open door down the hall to where her door was shut. "I'm so fucked."

"What makes you say that?" He sat next to her and scooted lower so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

"Estoy enamorado de ella."

"Oof," he reached up and held her head. "On a scale of one to ten?"

"The scale's fucked, too."

Angel sat up and moved so he was sitting in front of his sister. When he'd asked that question about Brittany, she'd said ten, plain and simple. But Brittany didn't ever feel the same way, and Angel knew that about the blonde when Santana wouldn't even think that she didn't. Rachel was different. Angel could see the way she looked at his sister, and he knew Rachel wasn't just there for sex. In fact… "Tan, have the two of you…?"

Santana looked at his curiously raised eyebrows and slightly shook her head. "No."

_Whoa_, he thought. "She's important to you."

"Si," and then, in Spanish, Santana said, _"It's like… it wasn't sudden, but at the same time, it was._" Santana felt her eyes watering and she looked at the ceiling in an attempt to stop them.

"I'm not in love with Jason."

Santana's eyebrows turned up and she looked at her brother, shocked.

Angel shrugged. "He knows that I'm not. We had this long talk a few days ago, and we both said that we're not in love with each other, but that we really like being with each other anyway, you know?"

"I guess."

"But that's not what you want with Rachel."

Again, Santana looked up and shook her head.

Angel stood up, got Santana's hand, and pulled her up with him so he could wrap his arms around her small frame. She sniffed against his chest, and he knew she was crying when she turned her face left and down. Her strong arms hugged him tight, grateful for his silence and understanding, and for letting her cry.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

At hearing Rachel's voice, Santana pulled back and turned away towards the bed, so Rachel couldn't see her face.

"Nah, it's cool," Angel stepped forward and ushered Rachel out of his doorway and into the hall. "I'm going make some tacos, care to help me chop things?"

"I-" Rachel looked over her shoulder and saw Santana bring her hands up to her face with her back turned, and she said, "Yes," she turned her head forward and walked with Angel down the stairs. "I'd love to help you chop things."

Upstairs, Santana went back to her room and smiled through teary eyes at the folded red blanket at the foot of her bed. And then she sighed with a frown and more tears when she realized why she was smiling. "Fuck." She was in deep, and getting out was just not an option anymore. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

In the kitchen, Rachel was trying to be helpful by cutting up bell peppers, but with every second that Santana was still upstairs, Rachel got more and more antsy. Finally, after one of the longest minutes Rachel remembered experiencing, she dropped her knife on the cutting board, said nothing to Angel, and walked quickly out of the kitchen and upstairs. Santana's door was open and Santana was standing with her back to the door with her hands on her head. Rachel didn't hesitate to walk into the room, step in front of Santana, and wrap her right arm around the crying girl's upper torso, and she set her chin on Santana's shoulder.

Santana gasped a little brokenly when Rachel was suddenly in front of her, and her lips pulled down and she closed her eyes when Rachel hugged her. She let herself hug back, and her quiet tears continued to fall.

Rachel said nothing and just held her, feeling her warmth. After several minutes, Santana began to pull back, and Rachel kept her hand on Santana's waist as they pulled away. Santana sniffed and looked down, upset that Rachel was seeing her like this. She looked up when Rachel's right hand slid down from her waist and took hold of Santana's left hand. She led Santana across the hall and into the bathroom, sat her down on the edge of the tub, got a washcloth, and ran it under cold water. She wrung it out and knelt in front of Santana, who still wouldn't look at her, and gently dabbed at her puffy face with the cool cloth.

Santana closed her eyes and just breathed as Rachel took care of her. The cold felt good, and then she opened her eyes when Rachel cupped her neck. They shut again when soft lips pressed against hers, and her brow furrowed when Rachel pressed harder. Santana's head naturally tilted to the left a bit, and she licked her lips and lightly bit her bottom lip into her mouth when Rachel pulled away and rested their foreheads together. Rachel stayed there for a few seconds before she pulled back and looked at Santana with a small smile.

"I dreamt about that day when we both got too worked up, and you sent me downstairs, and after you'd come back down, we… on the couch," she sat back on her heels and smiled a little more when Santana looked at her.

"Yeah?"

Rachel nodded. "Except I was watching us, like, from across the room, I was watching us." The dream had been quite lovely, and Rachel woke up warmer than she'd been when she fell asleep.

Santana reached up and curled her fingers around Rachel's hand, so she was holding it. "I've had dreams like that."

"Y- you have?"

"Yeah. But my brain makes up new things."

Rachel blushed. "Like what?"

Santana looked at Rachel's lips, forgetting that she'd been a crying mess only minutes before. "Like- like your lips on my body where only your hands have touched, before. Like your hands on my body where you've only looked, before."

Rachel eyes hooded and her eyebrows rose at Santana's words. "Where do you want my lips?" Her voice was airy, and she might have fallen over had she been standing when she heard what Santana said next.

"Everywhere."

Rachel felt Santana's words settle hotly between her thighs, and her mind went wild with images of her kissing Santana everywhere. "You would let me…?"

Santana shrugged. "I'm ready for you to know all of my body, Rachel. That doesn't mean that I need to know yours for us to be even, or whatever."

A frown pulled at Rachel's lips. "I don't want you to feel like it's because I don't want you."

Again, Santana shrugged, and then smiled a little coyly. "I already know from your crazy texts that you want me."

Rachel blushed through a smile and looked at the floor. "You're a good kisser."

Santana put aside the thoughts that had caused her crying spell and just focused on how Rachel was making her feel happy right now. "So are you."

Rachel looked up, wide-eyed and a small smile on her face. "Really?"

Santana nodded. _You're a really fucking good kisser,_ Santana thought, and she said, "Yes, really."

"When I kissed Puck, and Finn, and Jesse, I always felt like they just wanted to get in my pants," Rachel's eyes softened as she looked at Santana. "I don't feel like that with you."

"Hey!"

Both girls jumped when Angel knocked on the door to the bathroom. "¿Que?"

"Hurry up and finish your make out session, dinner's done!"

"Mierda pequena!" Santana shouted, and smiled when Angel yelled back,

"Cara de culo!"

Santana smiled at her brother's antics and then stood up. "Come on," she said to Rachel. "Before he eats all of what he's made."


End file.
